By Anna Saab
On summer evenings, after the dinner bell had rung and the dishes were cleaned and put back in the cupboard, I often wandered over to my neighbor’s to catch lightning bugs. Barefoot, running through dry blades of grass as little flashing lights began to appear around me, we would giggle and gasp at the otherworldly beauty in our own backyards.
The adults would interject with cautious excitement, providing intel on how to carefully gather and release the fluttering fluorescence. There were lessons on how to respect the livelihood of the nature around us — creating a new generation of Appalachian wisdom in real time.
For centuries, communities have cultivated wisdom from the diverse and varied voices of their neighbors and loved ones. Whether it’s your neighbor’s mother’s casserole, or your children’s fables brought home from school, lessons, recipes, traditions, and innovations have been shared far and wide by mouth and the written word.
Backyards are the original chatroom, kitchen tables the original ChatGPT. We don’t need a behemoth holding tank for servers to gobble the natural resources in our communities in exchange for an incorrect answer to our query.
Hyperscale data centers will cost us more than we’ll gain. The pace at which they’re colonizing West Virginia is concerning, especially given the lack of safeguards to protect our communities and environment.
West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, West Virginia Citizen Action Group, Tucker United, and so many other groups are working hard to stop the damage. There are so many ways to fight back, but sometimes we need an organizing activity mixed with relaxation and community.
Join us for an evening of art, friends, and resistance on Friday, June 5, from 5 to 7 at the West Virginia Citizen Action Group house in Charleston. Bring a shirt, bandana, or tote bag to upcycle with an anti-data center screen print design from Oli Moran of the WVU Sierra Student Club.
