A long data center building with the sun setting in the distance.

Elon Musk’s AI firm running unpermitted gas generators near Memphis neighborhoods

Elon Musk’s xAI has nearly doubled its use of methane-burning generators at a Memphis facility without required permits, drawing public outcry and legal warnings.

Dara Kerr reports for The Guardian.

In short:

A local advocacy group says xAI is using 35 methane gas turbines at its Memphis facility, despite applying for permits for only 15.
The Southern Environmental Law Center warns the unpermitted generators violate the Clean Air Act and emit harmful pollutants near historically Black neighborhoods.
Residents are demanding action, citing health risks and a history of industrial pollution in the area.

Key quote:

“xAI has essentially built a power plant in South Memphis with no oversight, no permitting, and no regard for families living in nearby communities.”

— Amanda Garcia, senior attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center

Why this matters:

The unchecked expansion of energy-hungry AI infrastructure is colliding with long-standing environmental justice concerns in Memphis, where industrial pollution has already harmed residents for decades.xAI’s use of unpermitted methane gas turbines in a predominantly Black neighborhood already suffering elevated cancer and asthma rates raises alarms about regulatory gaps and the consequences of rapid AI development. What’s happening in Memphis reflects a broader, and increasingly urgent, question: who pays the price for artificial intelligence? As massive data centers are rolled out at record speed — often in places with cheap power and minimal oversight — the environmental and health risks are frequently pushed onto communities with the least capacity to resist.

www.theguardian.com

Credit: Douglas Fischer

One lawyer's groundbreaking work in shaping climate law

As governments stall and emissions climb, human rights lawyers like Monica Feria-Tinta are turning to the courts to force climate action — one tree, island, or river at a time.

Samira Shackle reports for The Guardian.

In short:

Feria-Tinta is pioneering legal strategies that argue climate inaction violates human rights, helping Indigenous and vulnerable communities take their cases to global courts.
Her work includes landmark victories like the Torres Strait case, where the United Nations ruled Australia failed to protect islanders from climate harm, and Ecuador’s Los Cedros forest, which won legal rights as a living entity.
While legal wins are often slow and hard-fought, they’re shifting the global legal landscape, transforming courts into battlegrounds where climate justice and biodiversity now have a voice.

Key quote:

“Whether it’s a single tree, or a whole community depending on a river, what is at stake is the future of humanity.”

— Monica Feria-Tinta

Why this matters:

As heat, floods, and displacement intensify, the courtroom has become a potent line of defense. Climate litigation can hold powerful players accountable, push policy change, and help protect the ecosystems our health depends on — even when other systems fail. These legal wins are slow, complex, and anything but guaranteed. But they’re a signal that the courtroom is becoming one of the last places where the planet still stands a fighting chance.

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www.ehn.org

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Elon Musk’s AI firm running unpermitted gas generators near Memphis neighborhoods

One lawyer's groundbreaking work in shaping climate law

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