Readers write

Safeguards needed for data center power emissions

Sen. Raphael Warnock and Rep. Hank Johnson are right to demand Environmental Protection Agency action on data center diesel emissions. But the threat extends well beyond backup generators.

Across Georgia and nationally, data centers are increasingly pursuing “Bring Your Own Power,” which are essentially private, pop-up power plants fueled by diesel or natural gas. Elon Musk’s xAI facility in Memphis offers a troubling warning of what happens when industrial-scale generation moves into communities without adequate safeguards.

Meanwhile, the EPA proposes eliminating longstanding federal public notice and comment requirements for minor-source air permits. States could exclude communities from decisions that affect their health, and reduced public scrutiny could undermine citizens’ ability to challenge questionable permits and enforce protections. As a retired military officer and EPA official, I find this particularly troubling. Permitting should ensure enforceable pollution controls, cumulative emissions assessments, meaningful community engagement and accountability, not leave public participation solely to agency discretion.

Congress should also strengthen Clean Air Act protections and advance responsible permitting reform, including the bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, with safeguards for communities and meaningful judicial review. Artificial intelligence may power tomorrow’s economy, but communities should not sacrifice their health, voices or legal rights to fuel it. Economic progress cannot come at the expense of public health and democratic accountability.

JAY BASSETT, SNELLVILLE

Support for Ukraine is in America’s best interest

As an American who worked for a dozen years in Russia and Ukraine, it was clear to me before that America’s national interests were best served by vigorous support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion. It’s even clearer now as Ukraine has become a valuable partner, having pioneered a new way of warfare and defended its freedom despite the odds and Russia’s brutality.

Vigorous support would bring the war to a quicker end and make our strategic enemies more cautious. The administration’s policy of abandoning a democracy and embracing a regime that works with Iran to kill Americans is against the desires of most Americans. The policy is wrong-headed and wrong-hearted, based on false claims and mistaken ideas of how national power is made and used.