For Moms’ Wisconsin Organizer, Jayne Black, advocacy is deeply personal. Her adult daughter has multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease that can be made worse by air pollution. Her adult son has been living with asthma since age five. She shares the story of fighting for clean air and her children’s health in a Mother’s Day exclusive with People.
“All I can see is my daughter’s face and my son’s face,” Jayne says, “because I know that their lives are so impacted by this, and people don’t understand that. Everything I do is for them, and I’m thankful it benefits a lot of people.”
Although “the seeds of her activism were planted” when her son was diagnosed with asthma, it was her daughter’s MS and the COVID pandemic that spurred Jayne to action. She and her daughter started researching air quality—both indoors and out—and learned that certain pollutants, like soot and nitrogen oxides from vehicle tailpipes, are contributing factors to MS and relapse episodes. Her daughter has to wear a mask when she leaves her home, and she carries an air quality monitor with her.
Tell Congress: Protect Families From Dangerous Data Center Air Pollution
As an organizer with Moms, Jayne shares her daughter’s experiences in testimony before EPA calling for the strongest possible air quality protections to safeguard people’s health. She also works on pressing pollution issues in her community. Most recently, her advocacy has focused on AI data centers, which have significant environmental impact, including, if powered by fossil fuels, air pollution concerns.
“I was like, ‘I cannot believe this because this is 12 miles from my home,’” Jayne tells People about when she first heard about a proposed data center in Greenleaf, Wisconsin, in early January. She adds, “It’s gut-wrenching, and knowing too that these data centers primarily are using fossil fuels. It’s really disappointing and it’s scary.”
The People exclusive goes on to detail Jayne’s efforts to help organize the community against pollution from the data center development. Jayne “launched a Facebook group as a forum to educate and take action on the issue. In about a week, she says, the group gained 3,000 members from all over Wisconsin.” Jayne encouraged this group to email and call the Village Board making decisions about the data center.
Within a couple of weeks—and much to Jayne’s surprise—Cloverleaf pulled out of the project, citing lack of support from local leaders. “I work with organizers all across the country,” Jayne says, “and so we really want Greenleaf to be inspirational to the fact that community pushback works, like how important your voice is.”
Since the Greenleaf data center fight earlier this year, Jayne has joined local environmental groups to advocate at the Wisconsin Public Service Commission for data centers to pay for their energy costs, instead of passing them on to families in the form of much higher electricity bills. This advocacy paid off in April, when the PSC approved a new energy rate requiring data centers to pay 100% of their costs, a move advocates say will push data centers to use cheaper, cleaner sources of energy.
Jayne’s work is inspirational not just to other organizers and communities but, most importantly, to her children, who are watching her actually move the needle. This is what drives her.
“For a long time, my daughter’s illness was very personal and private,” Black says. “Even asthma with my son—he’s helped me, he supports me. So I know how thankful they are. They give me strength to do what I do. I rarely get tired out.”
Read the full story in People.
Tell Congress: Protect Families From Dangerous Data Center Air Pollution