Savannah Morning News
May 21, 2026
OPINION
Georgia’s energy expansion raises climate change concerns
by David Kyler, Center for a Sustainable Coast
Surveys reveal that 62% of Georgians are worried about global warming, yet state officials continue approving the causes of it – the emission of heat-trapping gases. A disturbing indication of political negligence toward both public concerns and scientific evidence is the PSCs approval of 10 gigawatts in Georgia Power’s expansion of production capacity – the greatest growth of electricity-generation in state history, mostly to be produced by burning fossil fuels.
Individuals often despair that they feel powerless to change destructive status quo policies that threaten the interests of their families, communities and future generations. These threats, including climate change, inflation, and disinformation – worsened by artificial intelligence – proliferate amid a daily news cycle that fuels chaos by normalizing it. To overcome that chaos, it’s essential that citizens elevate their perspective.
Interlocked challenges presented by issues surrounding energy production, environmental quality, public health, economic justice, and technological change can only be understood and effectively confronted through a comprehensive viewpoint - a systemic approach. Dealing with each of these perplexing problems individually is inherently a flawed and futile effort.
Minimizing the destructive impacts of datacenters requires using clean energy, meaning that energy policy must no longer favor use of fossil fuels. Disinformation spread by social networking and AI algorithms must be curtailed by strictly regulating high-tech applications, which – in turn – depend upon datacenters.
To serve our common interests, citizens must develop a unifying comprehension of interconnected social, scientific, political, environmental, and technological factors. Fragmented approaches to these complex problems must be replaced by systemic strategies.
David Kyler
Center for a Sustainable Coast