Target: Alexander Stubb, President of Finland
Goal: Ensure data center development does not cause irreversible environmental destruction.
Finland has become the latest ground zero in the global battle against data centers. The people of Muhos received quite a shock when they discovered that tech giant Google had unceremoniously – and illegally – cut down over 800 acres of forest. By the time the damage was done, about 250,000 trees had been felled. Another town lost over 100,00 trees because of Google’s activities.
What was the reason for this mass deforestation? Google wanted to build another data center. And its ambitions cost Muhos an entire ecosystem where not even topsoil remains. Worse yet, Google seemingly undertook this action without required environmental impact reviews. The people want accountability, and more consequentially, they want a guarantee from their government that such an environmental assault will not happen again.
Sign the petition below to support their calls to action.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear President Stubb,
Muhos and Otanmäki became the latest communities on the front lines of the data center debate. Google’s unchecked decimation of hundreds of thousands of trees across these regions caused habitat destruction, unwanted migration of homeless wildlife into towns, and topsoil and water impacts that are just beginning to be understood. If the people’s pleas for more regulation (and a centralized agency) and compensation had been answered, perhaps this controversy could have been avoided.
These crises will only increase in the coming years. Take action now and honor community voices before Finland loses its irreplaceable eco heritage to unmitigated corporate greed.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Kathas Fotos
