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Protesters gather outside the New Mexico Environment Department headquarters in Santa Fe to oppose Project Jupiter’s air pollution permit on August 28, 2026.

Project Jupiter, if built, would lock New Mexico into more oil and gas dependence for decades. Tell state regulators to say no to this air pollution permit.

SIGN THE PETITION

Oracle, OpenAI, and their partners want to build a massive data center near Santa Teresa, in Doña Ana County. It’s a $165 billion project. At first, they planned to power it with gas turbines and diesel generators. After people pushed back, they switched to something called fuel cells and called it clean energy. It is not since the energy for the fuel cells still comes from fossil fuels.

The fuel cells for this project would still run on natural gas, mostly methane. Fuel cells use an electro-chemical process to turn methane into electricity at high temperature (~800°C) but without combustion. The methane fuel is converted to hydrogen inside the fuel cell and emits CO2 as the byproduct. Since methane, also known as natural gas, is the fuel, upstream methane leaks and impacts from fracking and produced water are as bad as a gas plant per unit of fuel. They even need a new gas pipeline that doesn’t exist yet, and that state regulators already turned down once. This project is anything but clean. In fact:

• This would be one of the largest fuel cell facilities ever built, anywhere;
• The project is expected to release about 10 million tons of pollution every year. That’s roughly as much as all of New Mexico’s biggest cities combined;
• The gas pipeline would cross rivers, streams, undisturbed desert habitat and run nearby residents and water sources.

New Mexico has worked hard to clean up its air and hold the oil and gas industry accountable. Approving this permit would undo a lot of that work, right when we should be investing in wind and solar, not new gas extraction that puts frontline communities and the climate at risk.

What you can do

The New Mexico Environment Department is expected to hold a hearing for this permit, but the New Mexico Supreme Court has temporarily halted the permit proceedings, leaving the date and next steps uncertain. 

People have raised concerns about the fairness of this process, including hearing date changes, fake comments being submitted to NMED and restricting access to the administrative permit records. 

1. Sign the petition. Tell NMED to reject this permit until developers can meet sustainable and community drive guardrail protections.
2. Share this page. People deserve to know what’s being built in their home state.
3. Attend the hearing. Your voice matters. Make sure you are subscribed to our email list for updates on how you can participate at the NMED hearing.

SIGN THE PETITION

The post Project Jupiter in New Mexico: A Would-be Fossil Fuel Polluter for Decades to Come appeared first on Earthworks.

By Melissa Ostroff, Pennsylvania State Field and Policy Manager, and Anaïs Peterson, Petrochemicals Campaigner at Earthworks

On August 18th, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro announced a new executive order on data centers. This executive order, which the Governor called the strictest data center policy in the country, is a mixed bag that leaves many frontline communities still concerned about what comes next. 

Even though it neglects to include the most important policy tool available, a moratorium, this executive order still represents some wins for communities who have been demanding leadership from a Governor who had initially welcomed data centers with open arms. It addresses one of the largest concerns around transparency in data center development as it prohibits the use of non-disclosure agreements, or NDAs, in connection with data center projects. In addition to increasing transparency, the executive order also removes any existing data center projects from permit fast tracking and bars them from eligibility in the future.  And while this announcement falls short in many other ways, it shows the power of community organizing across the state to create pressure and deliver results in Harrisburg.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signs an executive order on data centers on August 18, 2026, calling it the strictest policy of its kind in the country. Frontline communities, however, remain concerned about what the order means in practice. Image credit: AP

Through the new order, Governor Shapiro also attempts to protect Pennsylvania ratepayers from the utility price hikes often caused by data centers connecting to the grid through a strategy known as bring your own power (BYOP). While BYOP may reduce the impacts of data centers on utility bills, it can also lead tech companies to build their own gas plants to power these projects. This risk is increased by the weak “clean firm” requirements laid out in this executive order. 

As part of the requirements, developers would have to source a growing percentage of their energy from “clean firm” resources located within Pennsylvania. But “clean firm” energy isn’t as clean as it sounds. In fact, the category includes nuclear power and fossil fuels paired with carbon capture alongside real renewables like solar, geothermal and hydropower. The mandatory schedule starts small, requiring just 10% clean firm energy. It then climbs to 32% by 2035. The problem is that Pennsylvania already gets 34% of its energy from clean firm sources today. With this context this “requirement” actually falls short of where we already stand. 

By labeling fossil fuels as “clean” and setting a target we already passed back in 2025, the Shapiro administration is sending a clear message: pollution is acceptable in Pennsylvania communities. The Shapiro administration cannot trade utility price hikes for environmental pollution and call that a win for Pennsylvania. What Pennsylvanians avoid paying in utility bills they may end up paying in higher health care costs. The fossil fuel infrastructure used to power these projects leads to increased rates of cancer, asthma, cardiovascular disease, and many other deadly and disabling conditions. And pollution has a cost, too – in the form of poor health, rising healthcare bills, and shortened lives. A stronger data center policy would protect Pennsylvanians both from price increases and pollution.

Governor Shapiro has directed Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection to develop new regulations addressing the cumulative environmental impacts of data centers, including emissions from multiple backup generators.

But there is one potential bright spot relative to pollution: Governor Shapiro has directed DEP to develop new regulations around the cumulative environmental impacts of data centers, including the impact of multiple backup generators. We welcome the consideration of cumulative impacts as part of regulations around data centers and other polluting facilities, and look forward to the opportunity for community members and public health experts to speak on this topic.

Governor Shapiro also clarified the role local governments play in data center development, emphasizing that his administration will not consider permits for projects that have not been approved at the local level. We applaud this nod towards community consent, but questions remain about what kind of local opposition will qualify for this protection. People living and working in Pennsylvania know implementation can be complex, and additional clarification is needed to help communities understand how this executive order will impact their own neighborhoods.  

This executive order does not address the existing gaps in ordinances and zoning primarily in Pennsylvania’s at-risk rural communities that would empower them to say no to data centers. Local governments are voting to approve data centers simply to avoid lawsuits even when their constituents are showing up and demanding they vote no. Currently approximately 32% of the commonwealth is unzoned leaving them unprotected if and when big tech comes knocking. However, it is unclear from the remarks made by Governor Shapiro and DEP Secretary Shirley if land use permits also fall under this executive order. If they do, a larger portion of the commonwealth may have some protections. 

While this executive order makes some much needed progress towards protections it leaves the strongest protective measure still on the table: a moratorium. The call from communities across Pennsylvania has been clear. The best way to protect our commonwealth from the impact of data centers, whether it is rate hikes or increased air pollution, remains a moratorium on data center development.

The post Governor Shapiro’s Data Center Executive Order Shows Power of Community Organizing – And the Work Ahead appeared first on Earthworks.

En español

Earlier this summer, Xinka People in Guatemala and their allies around the globe gathered online and in person to celebrate something remarkable: nine straight years of standing guard against the Escobal silver mine. Day and night, in rain and heat, community members have taken shifts watching the road, making sure it stays closed to mine related traffic. It is one of the longest-running Indigenous resistance encampments in the world.

But this anniversary wasn’t just about nine years. Speaker after speaker connected their struggle to something much older–500 years of Indigenous women refusing to disappear.

Drawing on a history of resistance

Marisol Guerra, president of the Xinka Parliament Women’s Commission, put it simply: her people have never been known for traditional dress or a widely-spoken language, in fact, the Xinka language nearly vanished under centuries of pressure to erase it. What defines the Xinka people now, she said, is this fight itself. “My people are no longer being rendered invisible thanks to this tireless struggle.”

That struggle has deep roots. Dr. Alfonso Solorzano Contreras reminded the crowd that the Xinka were fierce enough to resist Spanish colonization outright and that Sunday’s celebration, with their banners raised together, was proof that the same unity is still alive today.

Women leading the way

Women have driven this resistance from the start. Daniel Orantes, who keeps watch at the encampment, described how mining company allies have tried to spread rumors specifically targeting the women who show up for shifts, hoping to turn husbands against wives and break the community apart from the inside. It hasn’t worked.

Marisol answered those attacks directly. The encampment, she said, has become a second home. “We women have also played a fundamental role in this struggle.” 

Last year, she traveled to Vancouver with fellow delegate Marta Muñoz to tell Pan American Silver, the Canadian company behind the mine, exactly where the Xinka People stand. Asked whether any deal, even a majority stake in the mine’s profits, could change their minds, Marisol didn’t hesitate: “Even if they offered us 50% or 70% share in the operations, the answer is no… We simply want them to go away.”

Health and environmental impacts from the mine

This isn’t resistance for resistances’ sake. Experts hired by the Xinka People have documented arsenic and heavy metals in local wildlife and water. Wells that once supplied drinking water have dropped by as much as 120 meters. A sacred archaeological site was bulldozed down to a single mound. And the mine’s tailings dam, which is projected to be more than 150 meters tall and hold millions of tons of waste, sits in an earthquake zone prone to landslides.

In May 2025, after nearly seven years of a court-ordered consultation process, the Xinka People delivered their final answer: no consent for the mine to reopen. Pan American Silver has yet to publicly acknowledge that decision.

Remembering the past and determining the future

The Xinka People describe their fight not just as opposition to a mine, but as an act of remembering. Derek Mazariegos, a researcher with the Chiviricuarta Collective, spoke about youth recovering place names, oral histories, and traditional knowledge alongside the fight over water. Telling their own story, he said, is itself a form of power: it “shapes the way it has been represented and strengthens its capacity to determine what kind of future we want as a people.”

Nine years of holding a roadblock is extraordinary on its own. Doing it while also rebuilding language, recording history, and training the next generation of leaders is something else entirely. As Marisol said, closing out the anniversary: “For life and our territory, here we are, here we remain.”

Pan American Silver has still not publicly recognized the Xinka People’s decision to deny consent for the Escobal mine. Subscribe to email updates for opportunities to take action.

The post Here We Remain: Xinka People on Five Hundred Years of Resistance appeared first on Earthworks.

In English

A principios de este verano, el Pueblo Xinka de Guatemala y sus aliados de todo el mundo se reunieron en línea para celebrar algo extraordinario: nueve años consecutivos de vigilancia frente a la mina de plata de Escobal. Día y noche, bajo la lluvia y el calor, miembros de las comunidades se han turnado para vigilar la carretera, asegurándose de que permanezca cerrada al tráfico relacionado con la mina. Se trata de uno de los campamentos de resistencia indígena más longevos del mundo.

Pero este aniversario no se limitó a los nueve años. Un orador tras otro vinculó su lucha a algo mucho más antiguo: 500 años de mujeres indígenas que se niegan a desaparecer.

Inspirándose en una historia de resistencia

Marisol Guerra, presidenta de la Comisión de la Mujer del Parlamento Xinka, lo expresó con sencillez: su pueblo nunca se ha caracterizado por su vestimenta tradicional ni por una lengua de amplia difusión; de hecho, la lengua Xinka estuvo a punto de desaparecer tras siglos de presión para erradicarla. Lo que define ahora al Pueblo Xinka, afirmó, es esta misma lucha. «Mi pueblo ha dejado de ser invisibilizado por esta lucha incansable».

Esa lucha tiene raíces profundas. El Dr. Alfonso Solórzano Contreras recordó a la multitud que el Pueblo Xinka fueron lo suficientemente valientes como para resistirse abiertamente a la colonización española y que la celebración del domingo, 14 de junio, con sus pancartas en alto, era prueba de que esa misma unidad sigue viva hoy en día.

Las mujeres al frente

Las mujeres han impulsado esta resistencia desde el principio. Daniel Orantes, que monta guardia en el campamento, describió cómo los aliados de las empresas mineras han intentado difundir rumores dirigidos específicamente contra las mujeres que acuden a los turnos, con la esperanza de enfrentar a maridos contra esposas y dividir a la comunidad desde dentro. No ha funcionado.

Marisol respondió directamente a esos ataques. El campamento, dijo, se ha convertido en un segundo hogar. «Nosotras, las mujeres, también hemos sido parte fundamental en esta lucha». 

El año pasado, viajó a Vancouver junto con la también delegada Marta Muñoz para comunicar a Pan American Silver, la empresa canadiense responsable de la mina, cuál es exactamente la postura del Pueblo Xinka. Cuando se le preguntó si algún acuerdo, incluso una participación mayoritaria en los beneficios de la mina, podría hacerles cambiar de opinión, Marisol no dudó: «Aunque nos ofrecieran un 50 % o un 70 % de participación en las operaciones, la respuesta es no… Simplemente queremos que se vayan».

Repercusiones de la mina en la salud y el medio ambiente

No se trata de resistencia por el simple hecho de resistirse. Los expertos contratados por el Pueblo Xinka han documentado la presencia de arsénico y metales pesados en la fauna y el agua locales. Los pozos que antes suministraban agua potable han descendido hasta 120 metros. Un yacimiento arqueológico sagrado fue arrasado con excavadoras hasta quedar reducido a un simple montículo. Y la presa de residuos de la mina, que se prevé que tenga más de 150 metros de altura y albergue millones de toneladas de residuos, se encuentra en una zona sísmica propensa a los deslizamientos de tierra.

En mayo de 2025, tras casi siete años de un proceso de consulta ordenado por los tribunales, el Pueblo Xinka dio su respuesta definitiva: no dan su consentimiento para que la mina vuelva a abrir. Pan American Silver aún no ha reconocido públicamente esa decisión.

Recordar el pasado y decidir el futuro

El Pueblo Xinka describe su lucha no solo como una oposición a una mina, sino como un acto de memoria. Derek Mazariegos, un investigador con el Colectivo Chiviricuarta, habló de cómo jóvenes investigadores están recuperando topónimos, historias orales y conocimientos tradicionales, en paralelo a la lucha por el agua. Contar su propia historia, dijo, es en sí mismo una forma de poder: «cuando un pueblo narra su propia historia construye una forma en la que ha sido representado y fortalece sus capacidades sobre qué futuro queremos como población».

Nueve años manteniendo un bloqueo de carretera es algo extraordinario de por sí. Hacerlo al tiempo que se reconstruye la lengua, se registra la historia y se forma a la próxima generación de líderes es algo completamente distinto. Como dijo Marisol al clausurar el aniversario: «Por la vida y nuestro territorio, aquí estamos, aquí seguimos».

Pan American Silver aún no ha reconocido públicamente la decisión del Pueblo Xinka de denegar su consentimiento para la mina Escobal. Suscríbete a las actualizaciones por correo electrónico para conocer las oportunidades de actuar.

The post Aquí seguimos: el Pueblo Xinka y sus quinientos años de resistencia appeared first on Earthworks.

The August of Oversight for the President’s Mining “Deals”

The Trump Administration’s corruption and self-dealing went on full display during the August 7  Critical Minerals Roundtable at the State Department.

The President received gifts of magnets from MP Materials and a solid gold ball from American Ocean Minerals Co., shaped to look like a nodule of minerals on the ocean floor. Real nodules do not contain gold, and mining them is a bad idea. 

Administration Officials Public Spending on Questionable Mining Deals

Commerce Secretary Lutnick spoke during the Roundtable to praise the $1.4 billion taxpayers spent from the One Big Beautiful Bill. That money bought a piece of minerals company, Vulcan Elements. That purchase and other taxpayer financed minerals “deals” have enriched top Administration officials and their family members, including Secretary Lutnick’s son. 

Secretary of State Rubio discussed the Export-Import Banks’s (EXIM) Project Vault, which would stockpile minerals for civilian projects. A March 2025 Executive Order opens up pots of EXIM’s public money to finance more risky minerals deals through the Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement (FORGE), a coalition of international banks he convened.

Elected Officials Call for Action 

With widespread reporting of corruption, at taxpayer expense, comes increasing scrutiny from Congress. 

• On July 30, Senators Blumenthal, Schiff, and Warren expressed concern about $8.9B in investments in mining companies tied to President Trump’s family, Secretary Lutnick’s family, or both. The Senators requested that Secretary Lutnick and other Cabinet officials preserve records and communications related to Vulcan and more than a dozen more minerals deals.  
• On August 10, Representatives Huffman and Garcia demanded Vulcan’s records related to investments received from Donald Trump Jr.’s firm just days before the Government’s funding announcement. The Representatives expressed concern about corruption in government contracting.
• Also August 10, Representatives Huffman and Dexter announced their committee’s investigation into alleged insider trading at Energy Fuels. The company owns uranium claims that will be opened up  by the President’s decision to shrink the Bear Ears National Monument. 
• On August 12, Senator Heinrich and Representative Huffman requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigate potential conflicts of interest when agencies buy ownership in public lands mines. They asked the GAO to investigate how the EXIM makes sure mineral investments only go to feasible projects. 
• On August 17, fifty-four House Democrats wrote again to Secretary Lutnick and other officials demanding transparency, accountability, and high-road environmental standards for EXIM’s domestic and foreign minerals “deals.” 

These investigations will continue until Congress stops the money fueling this apparent corruption. 

Congress Can Put Up Guardrails

Funding for EXIM expires on September 30, unless Congress acts. To tame the corruption and risks in these minerals deals, Congress should make the EXIM’s next round of funding dependent on the requirement to follow the highest standards for accountability and social performance, especially respect for Indigenous Peoples’ rights.

Placing guardrails on these investment deals will allow Congress to protect taxpayers from losing money in risky mine projects that waste taxpayer money, harm communities, and enrich the Trump Administration’s allies. 

The Next Generation of Mining Executives Can Learn a Different Lesson

The President did announce one deal that will genuinely serve the public interest, although it was overshadowed by the lavish gifts. The Administration awarded $100 million to selected mining schools. This support can enable new generations of miners to learn and innovate material efficiency techniques using less water and energy. 

This is also a good down payment on educating future miners on a lesson they would not have learned at the President’s roundtable: A mining company’s greatest asset is approval from the public and affected communities, not insider connections.

The post Golden Gifts, Sweetheart Deals, and Demands for Investigations appeared first on Earthworks.

The silence following the Samancor’s Dikwena Chrome spill, outside Brits, Northwest Province, South Africa, is a failure of accountability.

Guest author: Hassen Lorgat, CSOs Tailings Working Group

Just days before the commemoration of the tragic anniversary of Marikana — where 34 mineworkers lost their lives at the hands of the state — South Africa has been struck by another industrial disaster. On the evening of August 13, 2026, the Samancor Dikwena Chrome Tailings Facility near Brits in North West Province failed. Preliminary reports suggest a structural breach sent a slurry of mud-like material flowing across an access road near Eland Mine’s Maroelabult shaft.

The irony of this timing is devastating. On August 16, 2012, this nation mourned the loss of life due to state violence. Today, we are forced to question whether we have learned anything about protecting life in the intervening 14 years. This latest incident also arrives just a month before the anniversary of the Jagersfontein tailings disaster (September 11, 2022), which resulted in five deaths, the destruction of close to 160 homes, and the loss of domestic animals, including more than 850 farm animals and livestock.

These are not isolated events; they are a systemic failure of oversight.

To date, Samancor Chrome has offered little quality information. While management via social media messages claims to have launched a preliminary investigation, their websites remain devoid of official statements. In the vacuum created by their silence, social media has filled the void with rumour and fear.

Social media videos reveal the devastation of the failure.

This silence is not merely a public relations misstep; it is a violation of their own stated values. Samancor Chrome boasts of a DNA built on “Zero Harm” and “Caring for People.” Yet, when lives and communities are at risk, a lack of communication is the antithesis of care. They profess “Integrity” and “Accountability,” urging employees to “always do the right thing.” Silence in the face of a potential environmental and humanitarian crisis is the opposite of that commitment. If the company truly values “Collaboration,” it must treat affected communities, regulators, and employees as stakeholders to be informed, not threats to be managed.

However, our frustration cannot rest solely on the mine owners. The government regulators must step up. The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and the Department of Mineral Resources and Petroleum (DMRP) have a constitutional obligation to protect the environment and the people. Where are they?

Under Chapter 12 of the National Water Act of 1998, tailings facilities meeting safety risk criteria (such as wall height and storage capacity) must be registered and managed under strict engineering standards. The last updated dams register (July 2025) does not include this tailings facility as a registered facility, which must be remedied.

We, as the Civil Society Tailings Working Group, demand urgent action:

1. Immediate Scene Management: Secure the site to prevent further harm to communities and first responders.
2. Independent Investigation: Establish a public, independent inquiry into the structural integrity of the Dikwena facility, with a clear timeline for reporting.
3. Investigate now or the soonest possible: Release the latest safety audits and dam stability records for this facility to be made public.
4. The Samancor group, remedy their failure to register their tailings facility as demanded by law.

Tailings disasters are a certainty, not a possibility. It is not a question of if they will happen, but when. Over the last few months, we have seen the warning signs globally. In Zambia (Chambishi, March 2025), a breach poisoned the drinking water of 500,000 people. In the DRC and Indonesia, similar failures have destroyed aquatic life and urban areas. These events prove that climate change (bringing extreme rainfall) and aging infrastructure are a deadly combination.

We cannot continue to treat these disasters as isolated incidents as we have demanded: Safety First, a set of 17 guidelines endorsed by 164 scientists, frontline community groups, Tribal governments, and civil society organizations from 32 countries, calls for better engineering and conscious public policy and people’s involvement. 

South Africa has a history of mining tragedies that have defined our national consciousness. The victims of Marikana were killed by bullets; the victims of Dikwena may yet be killed by mud, heavy metals, and the bureaucratic silence that follows.

We have learnt from Brumadinho to Jagersfontein that early leadership when a disaster happens saves lives and provides a clearer analysis of the causes of the disaster as we search for remedies. These remedies must include the people most likely to be impacted by such disasters. 

The time has come for the government, Samancor Chrome CEO Desmond McManus, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, and the Department of Water and Sanitation to step up. They must act. The people of Brits deserve more—they need support, solace, and the truth. 

The post Another Tailings Disaster in South Africa: Where is the Leadership? appeared first on Earthworks.