President Trump, Please Put America’s Health First in the AI Boom

Dear President Trump,

We write as Americans who appreciate the important steps your Administration has taken to address America’s chronic disease crisis. The appointment of Secretary Kennedy, the creation of the MAHA Commission, and the focus on transparency, food quality, and children’s health have given millions of families hope that Washington is finally taking seriously what parents and health advocates have long known: America cannot solve a health crisis while allowing preventable toxic exposures to continue.

That is why we are raising a serious concern.

As AI data centers rapidly expand, communities are asking important questions about the enormous demands they place on electricity, water, land, transmission infrastructure, and backup power. Families are concerned about groundwater contamination, rising utility costs, local control, contamination at industrial sites, and the pollution associated with powering these facilities.

We support American leadership in AI, manufacturing, energy security, and innovation. But American leadership should not come at the expense of children’s health.

Our central concern is simple: data centers should not be used to justify burning more coal.

The April 2025 Executive Order on coal linked rising electricity demand from AI data centers to expanded coal production and directed federal agencies to identify coal-powered infrastructure that could support AI. We respectfully urge the Administration to reconsider this approach.

Make America Healthy Again is about more than food and medicine. It also requires clean air, clean water, and healthy soil. For years, many of us have worked to reduce children’s exposure to glyphosate, pesticides, PFAS, heavy metals, plastics, and other toxic substances. We cannot oppose toxins in food while ignoring toxins released into the air, water, and soil.

Coal pollution contains contaminants such as mercury, arsenic, cadmium, and fine particulate matter that can harm children’s developing brains, lungs, and nervous systems, while contaminating waterways and communities. These are not abstract environmental concerns—they are public health concerns directly aligned with MAHA’s mission.

America has better options. We should pursue energy solutions that strengthen the electric grid while minimizing toxic pollution, protecting local communities, and supporting long-term American competitiveness.

We respectfully urge the Administration to:

1. Reject coal expansion as the default response to AI and data-center electricity demand.
2. Maintain and strengthen safeguards for mercury, air toxics, coal ash, heavy metals, and coal wastewater.
3. Require transparent review of data-center siting and power sourcing, including water use, power demand, backup generation, ratepayer impacts, disturbance of legacy contamination, and protections for local air and water.
4. Respect local democratic input and existing environmental review requirements wherever federal permits, approvals, financing, land use, grid actions, or agency decisions are involved.
5. Direct EPA, DOE, HHS, USDA, and the MAHA Commission to examine energy-related pollution and toxic exposures as part of the chronic disease crisis.
6. Convene MAHA leaders, physicians, farmers, local officials, energy experts, and data-center stakeholders to develop health-first standards for AI infrastructure.

President Trump, your Administration has an opportunity to demonstrate that American strength and American health belong together. The United States can lead in AI, energy, manufacturing, and national security without asking children to bear the burden of more mercury, soot, heavy metals, or contaminated water.

We remain committed to the shared goal of making America’s children healthy again, and we respectfully ask the Administration to remain committed to that mission.

Sincerely,