Today on Athens News Matters, why advocates are celebrating changes made to proposed data center ordinances. Plus, a coalition of UGA scholars explores middle Georgia’s Native American history.
Local environmental advocates weigh in on data center ordinances
Data centers are flocking to Georgia, and with them, protests from residents concerned about the projects’ use of energy and water. Advocates in Athens-Clarke County have packed public meetings in recent weeks, determined to have a say in local legislation aimed at regulating data centers. Their demands have centered on public transparency and the use of renewable energy.
Laura Iyer is the Founder and Chair of the Southern Sustainability Institute, a local environmental nonprofit. Olivia Asher is a member of the statewide science education organization Science for Georgia. She is also a PhD student at the University of Georgia studying bioinformatics. Both have appeared at public meetings advocating for local data center regulation.
Iyer and Asher sat down with WUGA’s Emma Auer to break down a series of recently introduced ordinance amendments related to data centers and whether they feel their demands have been met.
UGA research group uses new technology to explore rock monuments in middle Georgia
The Rock Hawk and Rock Eagle mounds are two well-visited sites near Eatonton, Georgia. The bird-shaped piles of stone built by prehistoric Native American peoples have been the subject of many archaeological explorations. But, as a group of University of Georgia researchers—self-dubbed The Alliance--have found out, much mystery remains about who created the mounds, as well as their purpose.
The Alliance is an interdisciplinary group spanning the sciences and humanities. Their research aim is to explore not only the geological characteristics of the sites, but also the stories told about them throughout Georgia history.
Ervan Garrison is a Professor Emeritus of Archaeological Geology and Geophysics at UGA. Sergio Bernardes is the Associate Director of UGA's Center for Geospatial Research. Dr. Jim Wilson is an instructor in the Department of English, and Abhijit Sarmah is a PhD student in the Department of English. Together, they sat down with WUGA’s Emma Auer to discuss their discoveries at the Rock Hawk and Rock Eagle mounds.
They will present more about their work on the Rock Hawk and Rock Eagle mounds on February 24th in Park Hall on the UGA campus from 4-5 pm.
