Data centers in Washington are jeopardizing the state’s green energy goals

Washington's push for carbon neutrality by 2030 is at odds with tax incentives promoting energy-intensive data centers, which strain the power grid and threaten green energy efforts.

Lulu Ramadan and Sydney Brownstone report for The Seattle Timesin partnership with ProPublica.

In short:

Grant County's data centers, drawn by cheap hydroelectricity, now consume more power than any other local sector, leading to an energy crunch.
The state’s hydropower is finite, forcing counties to use unspecified, often carbon-emitting, energy sources to meet rising demand.
Legislative efforts to study data center energy consumption were vetoed, leaving gaps in understanding their impact on the power grid.

Key quote:

“Our existing hydro system is pretty much tapped out. So you’ve got a dilemma of how you’ll meet this additional load from data centers with clean resources or, frankly, with any resources.”

— Randall Hardy, energy consultant and former administrator of Bonneville Power Administration.

Why this matters:

Balancing economic growth and environmental goals is critical as data centers increase energy demand, potentially undermining the state's commitment to green energy and leading to higher electricity rates and reliability issues.

www.propublica.org

A residential garbage can overflows with plastic bottles and other waste.

Credit: the blowup/Unsplash

New pricing system helps small town slash its garbage output

When Plympton, Massachusetts started charging by the bag for trash, it nearly halved the town’s garbage — and saved thousands of dollars in the process.

Tik Root reports for Grist.

In short:

Plympton cut its annual trash output from 640 to 335 tons after shifting from a flat-fee dump sticker to a “pay-as-you-throw” model charging per bag.
The new pricing system incentivized recycling and composting, saving the town about $65,000 a year and reducing landfill-related emissions.
Nearly half of Massachusetts municipalities now use PAYT, and experts say volume-based pricing drives waste reduction without unfairly burdening small or low-income households.

Key quote:

“We found that demand for waste disposal was really responsive to price. If you raise the price of trash, people are going to find ways to not put as much out at the curb.”

— John Halstead, retired professor of environmental economics at the University of New Hampshire and an author of a study on New Hampshire's pay-as-you-throw model

Why this matters:

Less landfill use means fewer toxics in the air and water, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and more recycled materials in circulation. Plympton’s story shows that smart policy doesn’t have to be punitive or complicated — it just has to make people see the cost of their choices, and let common sense do the rest.

How a government feud threatens decades of scientific progress

The Trump administration’s move to cut off $2.6 billion in federal research funding to Harvard has upended a vital engine of American science, with ripple effects that reach far beyond a single university.

Emily Badger, Aatish Bhatia, and Ethan Singer report for The New York Times.

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