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Atlanta Environmental Justice Chapel to Tackle Data Centers and Energy Burden
Faith leaders and environmental advocates will gather at the Interdenominational Theological Seminary on Nov. 17 for a free public chapel examining data centers, energy burden, and other climate challenges facing Georgia communities.
Atlanta faith leaders and environmental advocates are joining forces to help Georgians understand the climate pressures bearing down on their communities â and what can be done about them.
The Environmental Justice Chapel is set for Nov. 17 at 11 a.m. at the Interdenominational Theological Seminary, 700 M.L.K. Jr Drive SW in Atlanta. The event is free and open to the public.
Organized by Dr. Erica Holloman-Hill of Green the Church and Michael Hawthorne of Invest in Georgians and the Sierra Club, the chapel is designed as an open forum where residents can learn about the environmental challenges affecting their communities, along with responses and solutions.
At the center of the program is a panel discussion on several environmental issues facing Georgia, including data centers and energy burden â the share of household income consumed by utility bills â along with other environmental justice concerns.
Holloman-Hill will moderate the panel. The panelists are:
- Rev. Michael Malcom of the People's Justice Council and Alabama Interfaith Power & Light; - Rev. Dr. Ambrose Carroll, executive director of Green the Church; - Rev. Dr. Gerald L. Durley, pastor emeritus of Providence Missionary Baptist Church; - Michael Hawthorne of Invest in Georgians and the Sierra Club.
The gathering arrives as Georgia grapples with the rapid expansion of data centers, which supporters tout as economic development but critics warn can drive up electricity demand and costs for ordinary ratepayers. Energy burden weighs especially heavily on low-income households, a core concern for environmental justice advocates who argue that the communities least responsible for pollution often bear its heaviest costs.
By convening clergy and community organizers under one roof, the chapel's organizers are betting that faith institutions can play a central role in connecting environmental policy to the daily lives of Georgia families.
More information about the event is available through the Sierra Club's event listing.