Virginia’s Data Centers and Our Environment

Photo: Loudoun County Data Center, Hugh Kenny/Piedmont Environmental Council

John Barth

The Cloud, which stores our documents and photographs, is not a puff of water vapor floating across the sky but a massive concrete building housing thousands of computer servers. And the chances are good that it is in Virginia. The Commonwealth’s nearly 600 data centers make it one of the largest concentrations in the world. It is estimated that 70% of the world's internet traffic passes through Virginia. 

Northern Virginia is the epicenter of that concentration. The area around Herndon and Ashburn – known as Data Center Alley – is home to approximately 260 data centers. They currently consume more than a quarter of the electricity generated in the state. One facility there tops out at 1,000,000 square feet. Many are sited near parks, playgrounds, and residential areas.

The current push to create artificial intelligence (AI) is accelerating the development of additional data centers to manage the numberless searches and calculations it requires. The new computer chips that make those calculations possible use five times the electricity their predecessors needed.

The rapid increase in data centers raises a number of environmental concerns. One among them is noise. Residents who live near data centers report a constant, audible hum from the cooling fans atop the buildings. Of interest to NVBA members is a recent research report from the University of Florida showing that anthropogenic noise creates stress among birds and interferes with breeding cycles, further reducing reproduction rates for a population already in decline. See Yue Liu, Effects of Anthropogenic Noise on Reproduction in an Urban Population of Eastern Bluebirds.

A second concern is water use. We know generally that data centers use significant amounts of water for cooling. But specific, accurate information on their water use is more difficult to secure. Many data center operators consider information about their cooling systems to be proprietary and balk at detailed reporting.

The issue of most pressing immediacy is electricity demand. The rapid expansion of data centers to meet the requirements of AI are pushing the already taxed power grid to its limits. Meta is developing a data center “supercluster” in Louisiana that will use almost twice as much electricity as the entire city of New Orleans. Dominion Energy’s projections of energy demand over the next decade expect residential use to remain stable. However, commercial use, driven by data centers, will increase dramatically. The independent monitor for PJM Interconnection, a regional collaborative to facilitate power sharing in response to peaks in demand across 13 states, including Virginia, recently reported that its members are at capacity.

The voracious appetites of data centers for electric power can only be met by increasing generating capacity. This means that the retirement of coal and methane powered generating plants, scheduled to be phased out to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, will be delayed, and the construction of new generation facilities is inevitable. Because they are the cheaper and quicker option, additional methane fueled plants are likely. 

Throughout the current year, electricity costs across the country, including Virginia, have been rising. The costs of the infrastructure to meet data center driven demand – generating plants, transmission lines, substations – will be passed on to all customers in the form of higher utility bills.

NVBA is represented in the Virginia Data Center Reform Coalition, a group of environmental organizations in northern Virginia seeking to increase state oversight of data centers, require regular reporting to public officials and the public on electricity and water usage and revise rate structures so that the data centers responsible for the soaring demand for electricity and not residential customers pay the lion's share of the infrastructure costs to meet that demand.

Supporting your garden through heat and drought

Photo: Thriving native plant garden, Mona Enquist-Johnson

Margaret Fisher and Eileen Ellsworth

We all know the climate is getting hotter. The week of July 22 included the world’s two hottest days in recorded history. At the same time, the average annual rainfall in Virginia has risen, as a warmer atmosphere tends to hold more moisture. Since it also creates more violent storms, the water runs off faster, a problem compounded by periods of drought, which still occur despite the increase in total rain. We can only anticipate more heat and more drought in the future.

These changes have not gone unnoticed by local gardeners. Some plants which had always seemed hardy are now struggling in the heat. We see some so-called “sun loving” plants wilting in the heat of direct sun and never fully recovering. We are not sure what “sun loving” really means at this point. How much direct sun do plants “love” when it’s 95 degrees?

Most plants require supplemental watering when newly planted, but this year even well-established and well-sited plants are struggling in the heat and drought. Native plants have the advantage of being adapted to our local conditions, but what happens when those conditions change? We asked our native plant gardeners to share observations about plants that normally tolerate full sun conditions. Here are some of their answers.

• Some redbuds in full sun that were fine in previous years are now turning brown, which makes sense as it is an understory species accustomed to at least some shade.

• Coral Honeysuckle is doing fine in full sun if the roots are shaded, which also mimics how the vine behaves in nature as it climbs up trees.

• Some Virgina Sweetspire shrubs are wilting under the full force of the afternoon sun.

• Green-and-gold seems to tolerate full sun or dry soil but not both. The same is true of Golden Ragwort.

• The shrubs Arrowwood and Black-haw viburnums, Spicebush, and Bladdernut seem unfazed.

• Examples of perennials and grasses that are holding up well despite the stress include asters, goldenrods, Tickseed Coreopsis, Butterfly Weed, Black-eyed Susan, Wild Petunia and Switchgrass. The plants may not grow as tall, though, when stressed.

Going forward, here are some gardening strategies to consider.

Shop for Drought-Resistant Plants: We can’t control the climate, but if we don’t want to spend the rest of our lives watering, we will shop more carefully for plants that tolerate heat and drought. A bit more research on the plant than the information provided by the plant label can pay off.

Consider Nature’s Place: Where plants are found in nature is a clue to where we should plant them. If they naturally grow in cooler, shadier, or wetter wild settings, they are likely to require more supplemental watering in a dryer, hotter garden. There are exceptions, though: some plants that grow in marshes, such as Buttonbush and Swamp Rose Mallow, do surprisingly well in compacted, clay soil.

Monitor Ground Moisture: Too much water can kill a plant as effectively as too little, so it is important to estimate the moisture level before watering. If sticking your finger into the ground doesn’t appeal, a moisture meter can be very handy and occasionally deliver some big surprises, since water moves down into even slight depressions. 

Use Mulch: Two or three inches of hardwood or leaf mulch will cool the soil and reduce evaporation. However, too thick a layer can become a water barrier and actually dry out the bed. Wood chip mulch is the preferred choice under trees because water flows through it more easily. Fallen leaves are nature’s solution and can do the job in a garden bed with the additional benefit of providing habitat for fireflies and amphibians. 

Plant Green Mulch: If you use living plants as a kind of green mulch, that can also cool and moisten the soil, though competition for water between plants needs to be considered.

Plant More Trees: With temperatures rising, shade gardens are the gardens of the future. Just remember that you should always pull turf grass away from tree trunks out to the drip line, since the roots of trees are quite shallow and have trouble competing with turf for water and nutrients.  

Many answers to your questions can be found in the Plant NOVA Natives online search app, which we constantly update as more information comes in. If you have additional observations or strategies to contribute, please send them to plantnovanatives@gmail.com.

Controlling English Ivy Saves Trees and Combats Climate Change

Photo: English Ivy via Wikimedia Commons

Elaine Kolish

English Ivy is everywhere, in our neighborhoods, along our roads, and in our parks. It climbs over fences, covers sheds, and carpets forest floors. Unfortunately, many people think English Ivy is a benign plant that grows in the shade where nothing else grows. 

The truth is English Ivy is harmful in many ways. Even if well-manicured and contained on the ground, English Ivy provides a resting spot for mosquitos on hot days or hides puddles where they can breed, and who wants that! More importantly, when it covers forest floors it displaces native plants and eliminates needed and productive biodiversity. When it climbs trees, it harms and eventually kills them. It eliminates the important environmental benefits trees provide as wildlife habitat as well as preventing stormwater from entering streams, cooling our environment, and combatting climate change.

Trees are one of our best tools for capturing carbon dioxide, which is necessary to fight global warming. According to the U.S. Forest Service, America’s forests sequester about 16% of the annual emissions from the United States. Because trees are such excellent carbon sinks, large-scale reforestation efforts are underway. President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan calls for more than one billion new trees to be planted over the next 10 years. In addition, the government’s experts know that controlling invasive species that kill trees is an important strategy for enhancing carbon capture. 

We as individuals also have an important role to play in controlling English Ivy at home and in our natural areas. Otherwise, it covers everything in its path, and, when left unchecked, English Ivy grows vertically (by rootlets on the stem). On trees, the weight of the vine weakens and breaks limbs, which can make trees more susceptible to infections, and over time the vines cover trees so totally that they die. But that’s not all. When English Ivy goes vertical it matures. It then will flower and set fruit. Birds then eat and disperse the fruit, spreading the English Ivy invasion.

English Ivy cut to save trees, Margaret Fisher

Homeowners can protect their costly landscaping and help the environment by eliminating English Ivy from their gardens or, at a minimum, by keeping it from growing up trees. Wearing gloves, cut all the vines on a tree about two feet up and again at ground level. There is no need to pull the vines off the tree. Deprived of water and nutrients from the soil, the vines will wither. You will have to repeat this occasionally if you do not remove all the ivy. Hand pulling after a rain softens the soil is the best way to get rid of English Ivy. The debris should go in the trash. Do not compost it or put it out with the brush collection as it will continue to grow and spread in these locations.

The good news is that there are lots of alternative native ground covers that will support pollinators and our environment. You can find excellent suggestions in the Native Plants for Northern Virginia guide, such as Virginia Creeper and ferns. You also can consult Alyssa Morel’s column on replacing English Ivy.

Beyond work in your own yard, you can help our neighborhoods, forests, and parks by becoming a Tree Rescuer, or by working with organizations that do invasive management, including pulling ivy. Working together, we can ensure the health of our wonderful trees and improve our environment. The work also increases our personal well-being, by increasing the time we spend in nature.

Happy Frostmas!

Photo: Northern Mockingbird and hoophouse, Deidra Bryant

Deidra Bryant

What’s “Frostmas?” Every year farmers celebrate the end of the growing season when the first frost occurs. Flowers and crops at this time of year turn to mush due to frost damage. So, Frostmas can be a fun celebration with farmers and their families to commemorate a good year of hard work and a successful harvest. It can also be a quiet reminder to plan and prepare for next year. Depending on what’s being grown, farmers may start to winterize their crops by assembling plastic tunnels or preparing cool crops in a greenhouse or hoophouse. 

Northern Mockingbird and hoophouse, Deidra Bryant

This year we experienced the first frost around early November 3rd. However, throughout the month, we reached temperatures of at least 60 degrees several times AFTER the first freeze. You’ve probably noticed some extra fat non-migratory songbirds around. In Waterford there are some noticeably larger Northern Mockingbirds hanging about the area. Which makes sense since they will usually feast on berries and other fruits and veggies in the fall and winter, and the Waterford/Lovettsville area is home to many local farms. However, I’ve also noticed with the warmer temperatures occurring, they’ve been gorging themselves on insects, worms, and other arthropods persisting in the soil and in the air. You can actually see bees, butterflies, and flies still buzzing around, along with huge earthworms and large grasshoppers eagerly moving above ground in late November. Unfortunately, these mild days and nights are almost certainly caused by human-influenced climate change. Scientists predict that autumns and winters will be much shorter decades from now. Specifically, fall would essentially start in mid-October and spring starting in late January. This is troubling because these seasonal changes could also cause flowers to bloom out of sync with avian and insect pollinators and alter the structure of other ecological systems each spring. We would also see insect populations migrating to higher latitudes resulting in increases in mosquito borne illnesses among humans and increases in insectivorous bird populations up north.

Although it makes me concerned to experience temperatures close to 75 degrees in Northern Virginia a week from Thanksgiving, I’m happy that many overwintering omnivorous bird diets will be supplemented this year. Which is evidenced by our feathered friends joining in on the festivities by singing and feasting till sunset.

Take the Plastic Free Challenge!

Photo: pasja1000 via Pixabay

350 Fairfax, a non-profit dedicated to challenging systems that lead to catastrophic climate change, is sponsoring a plastic-free, 30-day challenge from October 1 – 30. 2021. Audubon Society of Northern Virginia and other organizations are co-sponsors. 

Help us make our dream of a #PlasticFreeDMV possible.

From October 1 to 30, avoid single-use plastic—especially plastic bags, bottles, and straws. Join with others across NOVA to reduce your plastic footprint and protect our waterways and wildlife. Enroll today!

Fairfax County enacts a Disposable Plastic Bag Tax in Fairfax County 

News from Fairfax County 

On September 14, 2021, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors adopted an ordinance enacting a five-cent tax on disposable plastic bags provided by retailers in grocery stores, convenience stores and drugstores within its borders. The tax will take effect on January 1, 2022, and will be administered and enforced by the state in the same manner as the Retail Sales and Use Tax.

The purpose of the tax is to curb our collective use of disposable plastic bags, to reduce the amount of plastic waste in our local waterways and the damage it causes. Plastic pollution is a serious problem for ecological and health reasons. Plastics do not biodegrade like wood or other natural materials. Instead, plastic materials photodegrade, breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces but never fully disappearing. Pieces of plastic both large and very, very small can wreak havoc on our natural resources and can find their way into our food and water.

Revenue from this tax will be collected by the Virginia Department of Taxation and will be disbursed to Fairfax County monthly. Fairfax County’s ordinance tracks both enabling legislation passed in the 2020 session of the Virginia General Assembly , as well as guidelines adopted by the state Tax Commissioner, which were finalized on September 1, 2021. The legislation requires that the plastic bag tax be collected by the retailer at time of purchase, with revenue to be allocated toward:

• Environmental cleanup programs

• Pollution and litter mitigation programs

• Educational programs on environmental waste reduction

• Provision of reusable bags to recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC) benefits

Affected retailers will be able to retain a two-cent discount in the first year of implementation. Starting January 1, 2023, this discount will decrease to one cent.

Op/Ed by Tom Blackburn, President of the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia

Photo: Neabsco Creek Creek, Sheryl Pollock

When most folks talk about the signs of climate change, they point to things they can see. We see destruction from fires, droughts, or sea rise around the country and the world – and right here in Virginia, we can see it in increased flooding along our coastlines. But for me and other Audubon members, we see it in the changes in the birds in our own backyards.  

Nearly 70 species of birds that call Virginia home are at serious risk of extinction from climate change and related threats like sea-level rise, forest fires and false springs, according to the National Audubon Society’s recent climate report, Survival by Degrees. And nationally, that number grows to two-thirds of North American bird species. 

Cerulean Warbler, DJ McNeil/USDA

That statistic should alarm everyone, not just birders like me. As indicator species, birds tell us about the health our environment. Birders all over Northern Virginia are commenting on the small number of water birds that have shown up this winter as a result of the unusually warm winter. While one winter’s average temperature does not itself demonstrate climate change, it is a component of the rising average temperatures that are projected to reach dangerous levels in just a few years. The same threats that endanger our birds’ futures also endanger our homes and communities in Virginia and ultimately the lives of our children and grandchildren.  

It’s disheartening living so close to Washington and seeing so many of our nation’s leaders either failing to act or, even more dangerously, undoing the positive steps our government has taken to combat climate change. Fortunately, that’s not the story in Richmond, where the General Assembly is working to pass a series of bills to fight climate change in the Commonwealth.

One bill in particular stands out from the rest – the Virginia Clean Economy Act. This bill would make Virginia a national leader in transitioning our energy economy from fossil fuels to clean sources like wind and solar, and in eliminating pollution from our energy utilities. Under this bill, by 2050 the electricity generated by Virginia’s public utilities will come from clean sources and they will be completely emissions-free. With proper siting and management practices to avoid harm to birds, eliminating carbon pollution by switching to clean sources of energy like wind and solar will go a long way toward preserving Virginia’s beautiful habitat for birds and people alike for decades to come. 

The Virginia Clean Economy Act isn’t perfect, but it’s the best piece of energy legislation we’ve seen come out of Richmond in a long time. Passing this bill and signing it into law will mark a historic first step in the fight against climate change. Our birds are telling us we have to act on climate change. If we don’t heed their warning, they won’t be the only ones facing extinction. I hope all legislators in the General Assembly will do the right thing when the time comes to vote and support the Virginia Clean Economy Act.