"Am I supposed to pay for your data center while my own electricity bill keeps climbing?" Ep 5 of Shack & Mu lands in Glen Arden, Maryland to take on the AI data center boom and the community fighting one in their backyard. Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali and Dr. Sacoby Wilson break down why data centers are an environmental, public health, and economic justice issue, then sit down with organizer Staci Hartwell.

The proposed Landover data center, planned for the old Landover Mall site, becomes the case study. The hosts walk through what most economic development pitches leave out: energy bills passed on to residents, diesel generators pumping out particulate matter tied to asthma and cancer, and heavy water use in a county already graded F for air quality. Staci Hartwell of the South County Environmental Justice Coalition shares what she saw inside the county's data center task force, why the community was notified late, and how a groundswell of letters and voices pulled politicians back to the table.

In this episode

• (00:00) Welcome, and why AI data centers

• (00:47) The energy bills nobody agreed to pay

• (01:35) Diesel, particulate matter, and your health

• (02:45) Why ethics and transparency matter

• (03:07) Meet Staci Hartwell of the South County EJ Coalition

• (04:34) Inside the county data center task force

• (05:56) Turkeys, trinkets, and the developer playbook

• (06:36) An F for air quality and cumulative impacts

• (07:22) Ranked in the 86th percentile for burden

• (08:01) The power of the people's voice

• (10:18) Pro development, pro community, pro justice

• (12:01) Lessons from the xAI data center in Memphis

• (13:02) A public health, economic, and justice issue

Key takeaways

• Your bill pays for their build. Data centers can push energy costs onto residents already facing energy poverty, forcing choices between power, medicine, and food.

• The pollution is real. Diesel backup power brings particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and VOCs tied to asthma, cancer, and shorter life expectancy.

• Transparency was the first casualty. The community learned about the Landover project late, and the task force was stacked with vested interests.

• Your voice moves politicians. Letters, turnout, and organizing pulled electeds back to the table once the people demanded it.

• This is about smart development. Growth the community asks for and benefits from, driven by the people who live there.

About our guest

Staci Hartwell is a native Washingtonian, Prince George's County resident, and strategist with the South County Environmental Justice Coalition. She has been a leading voice against the proposed Landover data center.

Get engaged. Learn who represents you, show up to planning meetings, and write the letters that make decision makers listen.

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