March 8 Coffee and Conversation: A Very Timely Topic

BY DONNA DIETRICH:

Sunday, March 8th Sanctuary will be hosting its monthly Coffee and Conversation.  The topic this month is one that is on everyone's mind with the recent announcement of a data center being built in Franklin Furnace.  Facilitated by local activist Lorry Swain, this non-religious event will feature five experts on the impacts of data centers, each speaking for about 5 minutes.  The presentations will be followed by open discussion of data centers and their impacts.  Speakers will include Michelle Martin, Scott Leeth, Eric Graf, Ben Murray, and Patrick McDavid.  Martin, a local professor who lives very close to where the proposed center is to be built, will be sharing insights about the financial impacts the creation of data center infrastructure can have on local residents.

  Leeth, an independent journalist who researches and reports on local issues affecting our community, is a military veteran who will be discussing how AI is used in surveillance, war making, and the destruction of jobs and livelihoods. Graf is a software engineer who will explain what data centers are and how they function.  Wheeler is a senior researcher with the organization Food and Water Watch.  He will be discussing the imminent threat to our food and water supplies as a result of the new data center.  Finally, like Martin, McDavid lives near the location where the center is to be built.  Concerned about the impacts the data center would have on his community, he took the lead in organizing those opposed to the proposed center, and he created the Scioto Responsible Growth Alliance.  Currently, he continues to educate the public on the issues surrounding this project.  

If you are concerned about how this issue will affect your community, or you just want to know more, join us March 8 at 5:30 pm for refreshments and open discussions on this very timely topic.