Latest news with #SELC
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Elon Musk's AI company under fire after secret project exposed at massive facility: 'Reckless, irresponsible, and a threat to us all'
Community advocacy groups sent a letter accusing Elon Musk's AI company, xAI, of setting up Tennessee gas turbines without permission. According to Reuters, the Southern Environmental Law Center and other advocacy groups wrote the letter to the Shelby County Health Department. It claimed the company exceeded the number of turbines for which it has permits. The groups want turbine operations to cease until xAI complies with the Clean Air Act. The SELC said in a statement, "The dozens of turbines operating outside the datacenter likely make xAI the largest industrial source of the smog-forming pollutant NOx (nitrogen oxides) in Memphis." NOx refers to various nitrogen-oxygen compounds produced through combustion. These harmful compounds cause respiratory health problems, acid rain, and water pollution. According to CNBC, the advocacy group said xAI applied for 15 temporary turbine permits, but aerial images show 35. Natural gas is actually methane gas, and while the primary byproducts from these turbines is carbon dioxide and water, the combustion process causes a reaction between nitrogen and oxygen in the air, and that is where the NOx generally comes from, along with the fact that the methane is not pure and includes other hydrocarbons and other pollutants. NOx and some of these other byproducts, like formaldehyde, are dangerous to humans and the environment. These gases cause various health problems and harm local ecosystems. SELC Senior Attorney Amanda Garcia said, "xAI has essentially built a power plant in South Memphis with no oversight, no permitting, and no regard for families living in nearby communities. These dozens of gas turbines are doing significant harm to the air Memphians breathe every day." xAI's behavior disregards government requirements and the Clean Air Act. Letting companies get away with ignoring environmental policies accelerates climate change, worsens pollution, and opens the door for more corporations to operate without concern for the planet. For over 35 years, just 100 companies have created 71% of planet-warming emissions, according to The Guardian. Some promote clean policies, but are merely greenwashing themselves. Others, like xAI, sneak around authorities at the expense of the planet. What do you think of Tesla and Elon Musk? Elon is the man Love the company; hate the CEO I'm not a fan of either I don't have an opinion Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Supporting groups like SELC hold corporations and authorities accountable for following and enforcing environmental policies. Garcia said, "We expect local health leaders to promptly act in order to hold xAI accountable for its clear violations of the Clean Air Act." This letter pressures government entities to keep companies in check. To stop this behavior among corporations, people must support green brands, advocate for firm policies, and speak up when they see injustice. KeShaun Pearson, Director of Memphis Community Against Pollution, said, "The rapid scaling of these dangerous toxic pollutants is this is reckless, irresponsible, and a threat to us all. The Shelby County Health Department must take decisive action and shut down xAI immediately." Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Federal funding restored for air quality monitoring after nonprofit sues Trump administration
This week, a federal judge has ordered that federal funding to an air quality monitoring program in Mecklenburg County must be restored. The decision came down Monday, after a lawsuit filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center and the Public Rights Project against the Trump administration in March. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Air quality monitoring nonprofit files lawsuit over federal funding freeze CleanAire NC was awarded a $500,000 federal grant through the EPA in 2023 to expand air quality monitoring in northern Mecklenburg County, targeting communities with historically high pollution levels as a part of the Biden Administration's focus on environmental justice. Current EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has criticized the previous focus on environmental justice for unfairly factoring race and background into federal funding decisions. Under the new leadership, the EPA has worked to dismantle its Office of Environmental Justice and reassign its staffers or place them on leave. Judge Richard Gergel, A U.S. District Court judge for the District of South Carolina, ordered the Trump administration to restore $176 million in grant funding for six municipalities and 13 nonprofit groups, including CleanAire NC, siding with the SELC's argument that freezing the congressionally apportioned funds violated the Administrative Procedure Act. In March, when the SELC initially filed this suit, Andrew Whelan, a spokesman for CleanAire NC, said the nonprofit was planning to launch its three-year air monitoring program this summer. The nonprofit had already paid some of the program costs upfront, but without access to federal dollars from the grant, he wasn't sure the program could continue. Now, Whelan said CleanAire NC is waiting to see when the previously frozen funds become available and how many more months and activities of the program the nonprofit will be able to support with the amount of funding we're able to draw down when they do. 'This decision validates what CleanAIRE NC and our community partners have experienced firsthand: the disruption caused by the unlawful funding freeze has real consequences for our ability to protect public health in North Carolina,' Whelan said in a statement. 'We are hopeful that this ruling will lead to the swift restoration of funds, allowing us to resume essential air quality monitoring and community engagement initiatives that are crucial for a healthier future.' Attorneys representing the Trump Administration said they planned to appeal the decision. Whelan said it's unclear whether CleanAire NC will be able to access the funds while another case is pending. The SELC, on behalf of CleanAire NC, also announced Thursday it's joining a second lawsuit challenging the federal funding freeze on the $5 billion for the national EV Charging program. The attorneys again claim the federal branch does not have the legal authority to freeze congressionally appointed funds. VIDEO: What is a Code Red Air Quality Alert?
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Federal judge orders Trump administration to unfreeze funding for North Charleston weatherization project, other grants
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) — A federal judge in South Carolina has ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze millions of dollars in federal grant funding for community-based projects, including one in North Charleston. U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel partially granted the Southern Environmental Law Center's request for a permanent injunction on behalf of 11 nonprofit organizations and six cities that received awards through the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. 'These grants were funded by legislation that mandated that the funds be expended for a specific purpose and left no discretion to agency heads to disregard the legislative mandates because current officials did not approve of the purposes of the previously appropriated programs,' the May 20 order stated. The plaintiffs in the March 19 lawsuit each received money for their respective projects but have been unable to access it since Trump's executive orders paused funding associated with the pair of spending packages. Two more groups were later added to the initial complaint. Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued the delays and disruption caused by the executive action left many projects in limbo, and in some cases forced the groups to consider layoffs or other mechanisms to stay financially afloat. Among the named projects was one by the North Charleston-based Sustainability Institute to build and weatherize affordable homes in the Union Heights neighborhood. The nonprofit was awarded a $11.4 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency in 2024 to carry out the project. That funding, which officials said had been frozen and unfrozen multiple times since the end of January, will again be accessible under the judge's ruling. 'This is a huge victory for these organizations who can now get back to work improving their communities,' said SELC Litigation Director Kym Meyer. Gergel's order also restored funding for 31 other projects approved under the Biden administration. Federal government attorneys did not contest the plaintiff's claims on those 32 projects, but wrote in a May 16 filing that they plan to appeal on jurisdictional grounds. The order did not extend to farming-based grants provided through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry program to allow for further testimony. The SELC said it 'feels confident' the court will also find that those six grants were unlawfully terminated. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Community Complains of Choking Fumes From Elon Musk's AI Fortress
Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI, is building one of the world's largest AI supercomputers in Memphis, Tennessee. Since coming online in September, the facility, dubbed Colossus, has amassed an absurd arsenal of 200,000 Nvidia graphics processing units to train Musk's chatbot, Grok. That comes with monstrous energy demands, and the way xAI is meeting them has angered environmental groups and the residents of Boxtown, a predominantly Black neighborhood just three miles south of the facility, Politico reports. Without obtaining a permit, Musk's company has rolled in 35 portable gas-powered turbines with enough electricity output between them to power a small city, spewing harmful, smog-forming pollutants into the air, including nitrogen oxides and formaldehyde. And in just 11 months since xAI started operations in Memphis, it's become one of the largest emitters of smog-producing nitrogen oxides in the surrounding county, according to environmental group estimates reviewed by Politico, afflicting an area that already leads the state in emergency visits for asthma. "I can't breathe at home, it smells like gas outside," a tearful Alexis Humphreys, a Boxtown resident, said while holding up her asthma inhaler during a public hearing about the turbines last month, per Politico. "How come I can't breathe at home and y'all get to breathe at home?" "xAI has essentially built a power plant in South Memphis with no oversight, no permitting, and no regard for families living in nearby communities," Amanda Garcia, a senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), said in a statement last month. The saga is the latest example of Musk's enterprises flouting environmental regulations. In August, his aerospace company SpaceX was accused by state and federal regulators of illegally dumping hazardous pollutants into water in Texas. Tesla, Musk's automaker, has faced similar accusations of repeatedly mishandling hazardous waste from its facilities in California. xAI's environmental consultant, Shannon Lynn, said in a recent webinar that because the turbines are temporary, the company doesn't need federal permits for their emissions of hazardous pollutants like NOx or formaldehyde, per Politico. In August of last year, the Shelby County Health Department similarly said that it didn't need to issue permits because the Environmental Protection Agency had agreed that it doesn't have the authority regarding the gas-burning turbines, since they were temporary, Politico reported. But experts don't see it that way. Bruce Buckheit, a former director of the EPA's air enforcement division, said that xAI is violating the Clean Air Act with its actions. "There needs to be a permit beforehand," Buckheit told Politico. "You don't just get that first year for free." Garcia, the SELC attorney, found the county Health Department's argument to be dubious, too. The exemption for temporary turbines is intended for small machines like those used to power asphalt crushers for road construction, he said. "xAI's position is quite suspect — I mean, they're huge," echoed John Walke, a former attorney in EPA's Office of General Counsel, to Politico. "The temporary or not temporary argument is irrelevant." Facing significant community pressure, xAI in January said that it would seek permits for permanent installation of its turbines. At the time, the company claimed it only had fifteen pieces of the machinery onsite. But in March, thermal images taken of the facility by environmental groups showed that xAI, in reality, had 35 turbines, with 33 giving off significant amounts of heat. Though caught in a lie, xAI is still seeking the permits. As of April, Lynn, xAI's environmental rep, claimed that only seven of the current turbines will remain at the facility, and will be "retrofitted" with pollution reduction controls. The other 28 turbines, he added, are merely "temporary" and will be removed once xAI finishes construction of two substations to supply power from the energy grid. The timeline for this, though, is suspiciously hazy. Only one of the substations has approval. And at this point, many in the community are fed up with all the deception. "The way they have come into the city, it's like, oh, you think we are unintelligent, you think that the people in these communities aren't able to comprehend what you are doing and will take this assault on our health lying down," 15-year-old Boxtown resident Jasmine Bernard told Politico. More on AI: Small Towns Are Rising Up Against AI Data Centers
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Memphis must reject Elon Musk's xAI project
Billionaire Elon Musk's xAI project in Memphis is sited in neighborhoods with historically high rates of pollution-related illness.(Photo by) Since the announcement of Elon Musk's xAI's supercomputer project in Memphis, city officials — led by Mayor Paul Young — have portrayed it as a transformative investment for Memphis, an opportunity to place our city on the cutting edge of artificial intelligence and 21st-century technology. Yet from the beginning, this project has been shrouded in secrecy, half-truths, and outright lies. The supposed economic development we were promised comes at a devastating cost to public health and environmental safety. The facts are now painfully clear. xAI's facility is operating with 35 massive methane gas turbines, burning fossil fuels around the clock in the heart of a historically Black, working-class neighborhood already burdened with some of the highest rates of pollution-related illness in the country. These turbines are industrial behemoths, emitting dangerous levels of formaldehyde and nitrogen oxides, which are linked to severe respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. When confronted with concerns over the use of gas turbines, Young falsely stated that 15 turbines were active and that the others were simply stored on-site. But independent thermal imaging done by the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) proved otherwise: 33 turbines were fully operational, releasing pollutants into the air day and night. EPA tells South Memphis residents little recourse exists to deal with toxic emissions This industrial-scale pollution is being generated mere miles from the homes of families who have already lived through decades of environmental neglect and systemic disinvestment. The facility's location places it in dangerous proximity to the Memphis Sand Aquifer, one of the purest and most vital sources of drinking water in the nation. Our aquifer is already under threat from past industrial activities, and this project only increases the risk of irreversible damage. At every stage of this process, city officials have treated public concern with contempt and evasion. Public hearings have been scheduled without meaningful outreach, key environmental reports have been kept hidden from public view, and straightforward questions from community members have been met with scripted talking points rather than honest dialogue. The message from City Hall is unmistakable: this project will move forward, no matter what it costs the people of Memphis. This is an unmistakable act of environmental violence, targeting vulnerable communities that powerful interests believe are too poor, too Black, and too politically marginalized to resist. Southwest Memphis was not chosen by accident. It was chosen because city leaders and corporate executives believed that they could steamroll opposition without consequence. But they have miscalculated. The people of Memphis are watching, and we are not fooled. The fight against xAI's project is about more than just turbines and permits. It's about the soul of our city. It's about whether Memphis will continue to allow powerful outsiders — like billionaire Musk — to treat its communities as expendable, or whether we will demand leadership that places the health, dignity and future of its residents above corporate profit. Memphis deserves better. We deserve leaders who tell us the truth — not after independent investigations force their hand, but from the outset. We deserve a government that places the health of its people and the sanctity of our environment above empty claims of economic progress. We deserve development that empowers communities, uplifts neighborhoods, and protects the environment that sustains us. City officials must continue to be pressed to disclose all communications, agreements, and impact assessments related to the xAI project. xAI must immediately cease operations until it obtains the proper permits, undergoes a full environmental impact review, and proves that it can operate without jeopardizing the health and safety of Memphians. Moreover, future projects must not be negotiated behind closed doors with billionaires and developers. They must be driven by community needs, developed transparently, and subjected to rigorous scrutiny. They must center the voices of the people who will be most affected, not exclude them until the damage is already done. Memphis' resilience is not in question. But resilience should never be mistaken for consent to exploitation. It does not mean quietly accepting the degradation of our air, our water and our quality of life in exchange for vague promises of 'technological innovation' that may never materialize or benefit the communities most at risk. Memphis has endured too much to be treated as expendable yet again. We must continue to demand accountability, defend our environment and fight for the communities most impacted by these decisions. The future of Memphis must belong to its people — not to outside interests seeking profit at our expense. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
