all donations go to change.org not the project 

Alabama is one of the most biodiverse states in the country, the preservation of which is in dire need of intervention. This intervention must be driven by the people. With your help we can eradicate any chance of future AI data centers and demonstrate a defiance with unyielding resolve in the hearts of Alabamians against these billionaire companies that lack regard for our beautiful state. We must band together in unity to push back against the billionaire companies that do not care about you, your family, or our beautiful state. 

Alabama ranks 4th in the US in biodiversity, with more than 6,350 species of plants and animals, including 25 forests and woodlands, eleven wetlands, seven glades or prairies, and with more than 132,000 miles of rivers and streams. This diversity is completely compromised, and our state's beauty is endangered by the presence of incoming data centers and attempts at new projects. The Alabama Rivers Alliance estimates at least 17 animal species may be jeopardized by the proposal of new AI data centers around Birmingham alone (Alabama Rivers Alliance). With 82 extinct species, Alabama ranks second in total extinctions, which no doubt will be increased with AI data centers' contribution to habitat loss, water pollution, and degradation of the environment.

Currently, Alabama has 27 data centers in operation or under construction, which will drain our resources, strain our people, and stunt our growth, while profiting for their already rich companies. In Bessemer, Project Marvel, a hyperscale AI data center purchased by Virginia-based QTS Data Centers, is planned to take up 1,600 acres of land off 20/59 on Rocky Ridge Road (Hightower). Furthermore, the Nebius AI data center project in Birmingham’s Oxmoor corporate park is set to receive $3.2 billion in tax abatements. These imposed threats to Alabama’s biodiversity also come at the cost of the loss of jobs, as AI data centers typically employ only a few dozen individuals, while AI itself replaces 16,000 jobs per month on average(Pipa et al.).

Water consumption is a hot button issue for AI data centers, as it should be. Water access is a fundamental human right. The US currently is operating at a net freshwater deficit (Baldwin), meanwhile, AI data centers require upwards of 5 million gallons for daily operations, the equivalent of water use for 10,000-50,000 households. Water infrastructure will need costly upgrades in preparation for this type of increased demand on the system. Across the country there have been numerous examples of citizens finding tainted water in their homes, and in many cases residents have not been able to drink, cook, clean, bathe due to the high levels of sediment(see below image) or nitrites in their water as a result of a nearby AI data center.

This is my plea for my fellow Alabamians to gather, push back, and achieve victory over billionaire companies that do not care about us or our state. Their only goal is to use up our resources and further divide us, as citizens of the United States of America. Only together and unified can we win this fight for humanity, conservation, and each other. By signing this petition we as Alabamians will stand together to reject all AI data center development and deny future encroachment into our land to prevent any leeching of our resources or residents. 

“We have become great because of the lavish use of our resources. But the time has come to inquire seriously what will happen when our forests are gone, when the coal, the iron, the oil, and the gas are exhausted, when the soils have still further impoverished and washed into the streams, polluting the rivers, denuding the fields and obstructing navigation.” 

President Theodore Roosevelt

Works Cited

Alabama Rivers Alliance. “Project Marvel.” Alabama Rivers Alliance, 2026, https://alabamarivers.org/project-marvel/?_gl=1*116kk8y*_ga*MTQ0NzI0MTg3MS4xNzgzMDMyMjQx*_ga_2V9ZSGJ5DM*czE3ODMwMzIyNDEkbzEkZzEkdDE3ODMwMzIyNTIkajQ5JGwwJGgw*_ga_TD4V4GX79G*czE3ODMwMzIyNDAkbzEkZzEkdDE3ODMwMzIyNTIkajQ4JGwwJGgw Accessed 2 july 2026.

Baldwin, Helene L. “Groundwater Decline and Depletion | U.S. Geological Survey.” USGS, https://www.usgs.gov/water-science-school/science/groundwater-decline-and-depletion#overview Accessed 2 July 2026.

Birmingham-Southern College, and Scot Duncan. “Biodiversity in Alabama.” Encyclopedia of Alabama, 12 June 2013, https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/biodiversity-in-alabama/ Accessed 2 July 2026.

Hightower, Morgan. “Proposed data center campus in Bessemer expands to 1,600 acres in updated plan.” WBRC, https://www.wbrc.com/2026/02/09/proposed-data-center-campus-bessemer-expands-1600-acres-updated-plan/ Accessed 2 July 2026.

Pipa, Anthony F., et al. “New evidence on data center employment effects | Brookings.” Brookings Institution, https://www.brookings.edu/articles/new-evidence-on-data-center-employment-effects/ Accessed 2 July 2026.

Yañez, Miguel. “Data Centers and Water Consumption | Article | EESI.” Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 25 June 2025, https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/data-centers-and-water-consumption Accessed 2 July 2026.