Why This Matters Right Now
Al is not floating somewhere in the cloud. Its infrastructure exists in real places, on real landscapes, connected to real rivers, communities, and ecosystems. The decisions we make today will shape Washington for decades.
Why Are We Calling for a Pause
Artificial intelligence is changing quickly. Its infrastructure is changing even faster. Behind every AI model, cloud platform, and digital service are physical facilities that require:
-
electricity;
-
water;
-
land;
-
transmission infrastructure;
-
public investment;
-
permitting;
-
and political decisions that communities may live with for generations.
Across Washington, data center development is accelerating faster than the systems meant to govern it.
We believe Washington needs time. Not forever. One year.
Long enough to understand:
what is being built;
who benefits;
who bears the costs;
how Tribal sovereignty is being respected;
what future generations will inherit;
and what rules communities deserve before another generation of infrastructure becomes locked into place.
"We are not asking Washington to reject technology.
We are asking Washington to govern it."
Water
Data centers consume enormous amounts of water, placing pressure on rivers, aquifers, and ecosystems.
Energy
AI infrastructure requires unprecedented amounts of electricity and can reshape regional energy systems.
Sovereignty
Tribal Nations deserve Free, Prior, and Informed Consent regarding infrastructure that impacts their lands and futures.
Self-determination
Frontline communities also deserve Free, Prior, and Informed Consent regarding infrastructure that impacts their lands and futures.
Communities Rising Together
This movement is powered by, campaigners, youth leaders, organizers, scientists, and communities working together to protect future generations.
What Happens Next
Community Education
Phase 1
Policy Action
Phase 3
Phase 2
Public Engagement
Phase 4
Community-led Futures
Describe your image
Describe your image
Why a 1-year moratorium?
Seattle has already adopted a temporary pause while it studies the impacts of data centers on electricity, water, land use, utility rates, employment, and public health. Washington should do the same statewide.
A one-year pause is:
✅ not a permanent ban
✅ not anti-technology
✅ not anti-innovation
✅ not anti-development
It is:
✅ pro-accountability
✅ pro-democracy
✅ pro-water
✅ pro-salmon
✅ pro-community
✅ pro-sovereignty
What Should Washington Accomplish During the Pause?
Full transparency
Who owns the project?
How large is it?
How much electricity and water will it require?
What subsidies support it?
Ratepayer Protections
Extraordinary industrial demand should not shift infrastructure costs onto households and small businesses.
Early Tribal Engagement
Public notice is not consultation.
Consultation is not consent.
Tribal governments must be involved early.
Cumulative-impact review
Who owns the project?
How large is it?
How much electricity and water will it require?
What subsidies support it?
Water Protections
Washington needs stronger disclosure, monitoring, and accountability.
Better Public Participation
People deserve to know:
-
what is being proposed;
-
who owns it;
-
when decisions are being made;
-
and what they can influence.
Clear siting standards
Some places carry greater ecological and cultural burdens than others.
Those realities matter.
Meaningful Community Benefits
Benefits should be enforceable, locally defined, and proportionate to the scale of the infrastructure.
What This Campaign
is NOT
This campaign is not:
-
anti-AI
-
anti-technology
-
anti-jobs
-
anti-development.
It is recognition that infrastructure of this scale should not outrun democracy. Washington has faced moments like this before. The infrastructure may be new. The pattern of asking communities to absorb the consequences after the biggest decisions have already been made is not.
