This is not a partisan issue, you don't have to be a republican or democrat or political at all to want clean water, fresh air to breathe, safe fields for your children to play on, and healthy land for our farm animals to graze on and plants to grow to feed us, you only need common sense.

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At a time in this country where we are so divided we can come together on this issue as Mountaineers and say to those in power, no, we have had enough of your ignoring our shouts and screams, letters and emails, we told you no, you didn't listen. Now pay the price, you will.

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It is the moto of West Virginia "Montani Semper Liberi," a Latin phrase meaning "Mountaineers Are Always Free." Our governor and many many elected officials across our state have forgotten these words. We deserve to live free from the chains of a tyrannical government that denies the will of the people and makes decisions that serve against the best interests of our state.

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Data Centers are not good for West Virginia. These billion dollars facilities create few jobs, many from other countries and return little in value to the areas where they are built. Data centers are needed but they can actually be built hundreds if not thousands of miles from here away from civilization. The only difference when we make wise decisions like that is unfortunately the politicians don't make any money off the deal. The company that owns the data center still makes money. We should be looking at remote locations like Denmark, Siberia, or even on old nuclear powered navy ships instead of our beautiful farmland.

The amount of electricity to power a single data center can be as much as an entire American city. The amount of water used by a data center each day is in the hundreds of thousands if not millions of gallons and the pollution added to that water is extremely difficult and expensive to remove. Pollution from a data center is now known to even enter into the air we breathe and is expected to kill many people who live around each center through lung cancer and other ailments.

Americans all over the country are fighting right now against these data centers from being built in their communities. It is time that We The People of West Virginia raise the flag... and join their fight!

Our governor, Patrick Morrisey, has been a strong supporter for data centers since being elected. Many state senators and delegates are following his lead and have begun creating new laws allowing for these data centers to be built in significant secrecy.

Laws have been created in Charleston that removed local control regarding whether data centers can be built and what if any restrictions their builders must live by. Laws have been passed to keep much of what is discussed by the companies secret. Politicians who may gain financially are being told to sign NDA agreements.  Governor Morrisey and these politicians have ignored our anger and our wishes that these centers not be built in our state. We don't need more poisoned water, land, and air. We don't need our taxes to go up, our electricity and water costs to go up. We don't want the known risks of pollution and potential death for a few dollars and fewer jobs. 

We need our elected officials to listen to us and to do what is right. Since they have chosen data centers and not the will of the people we must now make them pay. In many states across our country citizens have the freedom to recall their elected officials over serious issues. With enough votes those politicians must be voted back in by the public or be thrown out of office. It is more of an of shaming the politician and destroying their legacy. Unfortunately West Virginia has no such freedom. But,  I propose we raise the approximately 140,000 signatures to demand Governor Morrisey stop further Data Centers from being built or demand his resignation. This will make him a lame duck and an embarrassment in the political world. We won't just stop at him. We will highlight all state senators, delegates, and any other politicians in our state who are pushing for data centers and collect the signatures needed if a state recall were legal. 

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We don't get a second chance to save our environment or our health. The damage caused by these data centers will last decades if not centuries or beyond. The people of West Virginia must draw a line now so that our great grandchildren have clean water to drink, fresh air to breathe, safe fields to play in, and aren't laying on a death beds asking "Mommy, why can't I breathe?"

I don't care if you are a republican, democrat, liberal, conservative, orange, brown, purple or a flying dolphin. You matter, your voice matters, come join our cause, help save our state. This matters. We may not agree ever on anything else but today, please let's stand together and keep what makes West Virginia beautiful and a safe place to live.... and breathe.