Category: Latest from the Blog
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Rally for Data Center Reform on March 11!
Join the Marylanders for Data Center Reform coalition for our inaugural Lobby Day for data center reform. Sign up to meet with YOUR legislators to advocate for responsible data center development in Maryland. Kick off the day at 9 AM at Lawyer’s Mall (in front of the State House) with speakers, then join us for…
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Data Centers are said to create jobs, but people need to know: what kind and how many?
Guest post by Nature Forward volunteer Sheila Igoe…if you’d like to research, write, and edit educational materials like this, reach out! Photo via The Cyber Express Among the many controversies surrounding data center construction is the question of jobs–how many and what kind will be created during construction and operational periods? Empirical evidence shows that…
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Data Centers and Water Use
The rapid expansion of server-based data management and storage, especially with the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) has spurred a major data center building boom. This growth has driven a concomitant demand for the land, electricity, and water needed for these new data centers.
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What is PJM? Why Does It Matter? How Can You Help?
PJM is the regional transmission organization (RTO) for our area here in the mid-Atlantic. Originally responsible for Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland (thus, PJM), it now manages the electric grid for the entire mid-Atlantic and parts of the Midwest. As explained below, PJM has enormous power over electricity rates and the availability of clean energy.
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2026 DC Performance Oversight Priorities
The DC Council holds annual Performance Oversight hearings. These hearings are an opportunity to give feedback on how DC has been protecting the environment and addressing climate change. At the hearings, you can also help shape budgetary and policy priorities moving forward. The schedule for 2026’s hearings is available here. You can sign up to testify through…
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Vote for Nature Forward’s 2026 Maryland General Assembly Priorities
Maryland has been victim to the political and fiscal upheaval occurring as a result of the federal government, and that disruption means that the Maryland General Assembly is up for a tough year. We are once again in an extreme budget deficit, when so many Marylanders need the State’s support in this cost of living…
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2026 Virginia General Assembly Legislative Priorities
2026 Virginia General Assembly Legislative Priorities (Updated as of 4/8/26 @ 11:47amSee updates post-General Assembly here: https://natureforward.org/2026-va-ga-wrap-up/ . . . This year’s Virginia General Assembly (a time when legislators get together to make a new set of laws) has seen a lot of change since last year. Virginia has a new governor – the first…
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Meet Atia, Our Maryland Data Center Intern!
Hey y’all, my name is Atia Bailey! I will be joining Nature Forward this year as a Maryland Data Center Intern and I am so excited to contribute to the Conservation Team’s work! My role as a research and outreach intern is to stay aware of current and upcoming data center policy and to educate…
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Creek Chronicles: Pinehurst Branch
A group of water quality monitors has been monitoring this stream in Rock Creek Park for three decades–even in the winter.
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Meet Our Maryland Data Center Intern, Calvin
Hello Nature Forward! My name is Calvin Chrisfield (he/him), and I am excited to be one of Nature Forward’s new Data Center Interns! Over the next year, I will be supporting our Maryland Conservation Advocate and the rest of the Conservation Team to protect Maryland’s residents, ecosystems, and natural spaces from irresponsible data center development. In addition to…