Please join us! Online community forum: Ecology's new plan for community engagement.

At the Department of Ecology, our mission is to protect a clean, healthy environment for all people in Washington. Communities are important partners in this mission. Our updated Community Engagement Plan describes new processes and practices that will help us make sure everyone impacted by our work can have a say in how decisions are made.

We want to hear from you!

We’re hosting three online community forums where you can learn about the Community Engagement Plan, ask questions, and share your thoughts. We are especially interested in hearing how your community wants to engage with us and our environmental work. The forums will also include a digital zine-making activity!

All forums will be online on Zoom. You can register for the date you’re interested in using the links below:

Support for participation

Ecology can provide ADA accommodation, as well as language interpretation and translation services, at no cost to you. To request any of these services for the community forum, please email Chelsea.Batavia@ecy.wa.gov or call (360) 972-6366. You can also dial 711 to call through the Washington Telecommunications Relay for services like TTY. Please reach out as soon as possible so we have a chance to learn about your needs and arrange services that support your attendance.

Inform others through exhibits and other outreach.

Unlike traditional methods of research, where the persons conducting the study hold all the power, photovoice flips this script by empowering the persons being studied to be co-researchers. This participatory approach generates authentic, real-life data that opens people’s eyes to new possibilities, creates awareness, and becomes a catalyst for change. After participating in photovoice, many participants find they have greater confidence and self-esteem from having had an opportunity to be seen, be heard, and help others.


PhotoVoice project has begun…


Did you know?

Most of the world’s data centers are concentrated in the United States, followed by Europe and rapidly growing markets in Asia.

Leading Countries

The United States dominates global data center infrastructure, hosting between 3,960 and 5,427 facilities, which accounts for roughly 38–45% of all data centers worldwide Visual Capitalist+2. This concentration is driven by major cloud providers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, as well as the surge in AI workloads requiring hyperscale facilities energynow.com+1. Northern Virginia alone is the world’s largest data center market, with over 600 active facilities and hundreds more planned www.mappr.co.
Europe represents the second-largest concentration, with nearly 3,500 data centers. The largest European hubs are the United Kingdom (499–523), Germany (487–529), and France (321–322), supported by strong internet exchange points and regulatory frameworks like GDPR energynow.com+2. Other European countries with significant footprints include the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Ireland.
Asia’s data center market is expanding rapidly, led by China (449), India (271), and Japan (242). Emerging markets such as Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong are also growing due to rising cloud adoption and strategic connectivity advantages Visual Capitalist+1.

Regional Overview

  • North America: Dominated by the U.S., with over 5,400 facilities, representing nearly half of global data centers cargoson.com.

  • Europe: Germany, UK, France, Netherlands, and Ireland collectively host thousands of facilities, forming a dense network for multinational cloud services www.mappr.co.

  • Asia-Pacific: Rapid growth driven by digital demand, cloud adoption, and AI infrastructure, with China, India, and Japan leading www.mappr.co.

  • Latin America: Brazil (195) and Mexico (168) are the main hubs, with São Paulo as a key center www.mappr.co.

  • Oceania: Australia dominates with 401 data centers, serving regional cloud and enterprise needs cargoson.com.

Key Insights

The global data center landscape is highly concentrated in a few major economies, with the U.S. far ahead of any other country. Europe maintains a dense network of facilities, while Asia is experiencing the fastest growth. Strategic factors such as energy availability, connectivity, regulatory environment, and proximity to major tech companies heavily influence data center locations Visual Capitalist+2.
This concentration reflects the critical role of data centers in cloud computing, AI, and digital services, making these regions central to global digital infrastructure.


We have Data Centers!!

Data Centers in Washington State

Yes — Washington state has a significant number of data centers, both operating and planned, with capacity spanning hundreds of megawatts.

Tacoma Data Centers - 6 Facilities from 1 Operators

Washington Data Centers - 104 Facilities from 53 Operators

Current Capacity

As of the latest update, there are 13 operating data centers in Washington with a combined capacity of:

173 MW, 5 planned projects that would add 648 MW of capacity www.cleanview.co. The total potential capacity across all facilities is about 821 MW.

Largest Operating Facilities

Major Planned Projects

  • East Wenatchee Campus – 360 MW, Chelan County, WA, developer Microsoft (expected 2026) www.cleanview.co

  • Microsoft Malaga Campus – 288 MW, Chelan County, WA (expected 2026) www.cleanview.co

  • Atlas Agro Data Center Campus – Benton County, WA (expected 2027) www.cleanview.co

  • Trammell Crow Lewis & Clark Ranch Data Center – Benton County, WA (TBD) www.cleanview.co

  • AWS Wallula Gap Data Center Campus – Walla Walla County, WA (TBD) www.cleanview.co

Broader Market

Some listings show over 100 data centers across Washington, from colocation and cloud facilities to large-scale tech hubs Data Center Map. Major markets include Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane, and East Wenatchee, with many facilities in the Seattle metro area.

Context

Washington has become a hub for data center growth, driven by tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon. The state is also grappling with energy and water usage concerns, with lawmakers considering requirements for data centers to disclose resource use and future projections Geek Wire.

In short: Yes, Washington has a robust and growing data center ecosystem, with both established facilities and large-scale planned projects, making it a key player in the U.S. data infrastructure landscape.


Potential Harms of Data Centers in Tacoma, WA

Data centers in Tacoma and across Washington can bring economic benefits, but they also pose several environmental and community health risks.

Air pollution and health impacts
Most data centers use diesel-powered backup generators, which emit fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) Washington State Department of Ecology. These pollutants can penetrate deep into the lungs, causing or worsening respiratory conditions like asthma, and may contribute to long-term lung damage. In areas like Quincy, which hosts major data centers, diesel particle pollution has been a focus of health risk assessments Washington State Department of Ecology.

Energy demand and grid strain
Data centers are extremely power-hungry. In Washington, their growth is raising concerns about whether the state can meet rising electricity needs without overburdening the grid, especially as the state pushes to maintain clean energy goals KUOW Public Radio+1. Without cost-sharing rules, some lawmakers warn that serving these facilities could raise electricity bills for other customers Axios.

Water use and environmental stress
Cooling systems in data centers require large volumes of freshwater, often drawn from local rivers, aquifers, or municipal supplies sustainabilitydialogue.uchicago.edu. This can strain water resources, especially in areas already facing scarcity, and may affect local ecosystems and water quality.

Chemical runoff and contamination
Cooling systems can release chemicals into soil and waterways, potentially contaminating local environments sustainabilitydialogue.uchicago.edu.

Equity and siting concerns
While not all data centers are in Tacoma, the broader trend is that they are often sited in rural or under-resourced communities, raising concerns about environmental injustice sustainabilitydialogue.uchicago.edu+1. Residents may face disproportionate exposure to pollution and resource use.

Economic trade-offs
While data centers can bring jobs and investment, the benefits are often concentrated among a small group, while the costs (pollution, resource use, infrastructure strain) are spread more broadly World Resources Institute.

In summary:
For Tacoma, the main harms to watch for include potential air quality impacts from diesel generators, increased electricity demand, possible water use pressures, and the risk of environmental contamination. These effects are more likely in areas with high data center density and limited local resources.






What does AI mean for the Climate Movement?

I’ve been talking with climate advocates and other progressive activists and organizers about AI for a few months now, trying to sort out what it means for our movement. I set out to try to separate hype from reality, and while I’ve learned a lot, there’s still a lot we don’t know, both in terms of how this industry will impact us on an environmental and human level, and what it can promise us in terms of opportunities to be more effective organizers, leaders, and communicators.

What I do know is that right now, we still have the power to shape how our movement(s) engage with AI. And so to help equip ourselves with the tools to do that, we’re launching an AI Learning Hub training series this year. Over the course of several weeks, we’ll cover topics from the climate impacts of AI to how to manage its use on your teams, and case studies of how other advocates are using AI in their campaigns to deepen their impact. 

But we’re still developing this curriculum, and we want to hear from YOU about what you want us to cover. Got big questions or concerns about AI? Wrestling with how to implement it responsibly? Looking at all the hype and wondering what’s real? Let us know what you want to learn about in this training series!

AI Resources for Climate Advocates 

One of the first steps we took in wrapping our heads around AI was to find and compile the best resources for nonprofits grappling with all aspects of AI. We shared some of the best in an AI Resource Hub - and here are some of the links I think are most useful for organizations just starting to engage. This is a living document, so if there’s a resource you think should be added, please email me and let me know!

NTEN’s AI for Nonprofits Resource Hub: If you’re wondering how to approach AI in terms of both governance and ethics, this is probably the best resource, with articles, videos, and templates.

The Whole Whale’s Guide to Generative AI: This is a great place to start to learn more about practical applications of AI. I especially like their guide to writing effective prompts.

DonorSearch has a great rundown of tips for using AI in your fundraising program.  

AI Now is doing very powerful research work on the impact of AI and how groups are fighting back against harmful data centers. 

And what about AI’s impact on our water and climate?

The growth of AI has an impact on water and climate. My big question is how this will play out in the future. I love our partner The Water Hub’s Issue briefing: AI, data centers, and water, which delves into this issue with a lot of nuance and evidence. Right now, your ChatGPT prompt about a dinner recipe might not be destroying our climate - but the decisions corporations make about where to build data centers and how to power them may be disastrous in the long term. We’ll explore all of this during the training series. 

Let’s work together

Recycle

Repurpose

Reuse

Donations of Reuse items can be dropped @ 4819 S 12th, Tacoma, WA, 10-12

Items currently accepting Clothes, Shoes, Small furniture items, dishes, and household items.

 

All too often, environmental violations go unaddressed because the system for reporting these issues is fragmented and difficult for Washingtonians to navigate. Different agencies have varying responsibilities and figuring out whom to contact can be difficult depending on the violation being committed.

Our latest report, Lessons from IVAN-Washington, is the culmination of our work with frontline communities that are a part of our statewide coalition, as well as with state agencies and other governmental partners. Together, we came up with recommendations to address the barriers faced by communities when they need to report environmental issues.

Lessons from IVAN-Washington makes the case for a single, statewide environmental violations reporting tool to ensure we can advance equity, environmental justice, and healthy communities statewide.

A big thank you to all who lent their time and energy to engage in the development of this report!

Download the full report, or just read the executive summary in English or Spanish. https://frontandcentered.org/reports/


 

Poor air quality affects your health.

Learn how you can improve the air—and your health. 

  • Your age, general health, and the amount and length of exposure to smoke determines whether you will experience smoke-related health problems.

  • When smoke levels are high, even healthy people may experience symptoms.

  • Smoke can also affect indoor air quality in businesses and buildings like schools, hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities, and offices.

    • When smoke levels are heavy outdoors, a large amount of smoke can get indoors, even when you close windows and doors.

  • Commercial buildings and schools’ air filtration systems draw in the outdoor air. Standard HVAC air filters don’t remove most of the ultra-fine smoke particles. MERV 13, or equivalent, high-efficiency air filters can help remove particulates from the air.

10 ways to improve air quality and protect your health

  • Sign up for burn ban alerts and abide by them. Know when air quality conditions become stagnant!

    Burn seasoned, dry wood to release the least possible amount of smoke. Avoid:
    Wet wood—It produces a lot of smoke and won’t burn efficiently.

    • Treated or painted wood—It will produce very toxic chemicals if burned.

    • Burning cardboard or papers you want to get rid of—Recycle instead.

  • Dispose of yard clippings properly—Outdoor burning is illegal in most of Pierce County.

  • Take a break from the driver’s seat when possible—Public transit, carpool, biking or walking can be an enjoyable way to reduce emissions.

  • Combine errands to save gas—Reduce exhaust fumes if you need to drive.

  • Be idle free—Switch off your car when you idle for more than 10 seconds.

  • Slow down when you drive and keep a consistent foot on the gas—Speeding and slamming on your brakes wastes fuel.

  • Keep your vehicle’s engine and tire pressure in top condition—A well-maintained vehicle produces less pollution.

  • Avoid garden tools that run on gasoline—A push or electric mower doesn’t pollute like a gas mower.

  • Be mindful of spillage when filling your gas tank.

You also might like: Puget Sound Clean Air Agency

Questions? Email Jackie Busby.