Dave Rollo Archives – Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

The Data Center Showdown in Lackawanna County

May 28, 2026/4 Comments/in Dave Rollo, Energy, Governance, Jobs and Employment, KEEP Our Counties Great, Money and Investments, Politics, Pollution, Steady State Herald, Technology, Water /by Alix Underwood

by Dave Rollo

As the artificial intelligence (AI) boom explodes with a race for ever more powerful models, so does the need for its infrastructure. This takes the form of huge, windowless buildings housing thousands of data servers. Projects may involve numerous buildings—sometimes a dozen or more—with added infrastructure such as hundreds of backup generators. These amalgamations are termed data centers or, in some cases as an indication of their enormity,

Charleston County’s Greenbelt Success

April 30, 2026/3 Comments/in Conservation, Dave Rollo, Economic Growth, Governance, KEEP Our Counties Great, Limits to Growth, Politics, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

By Dave Rollo

Counties facing growth challenges can use a variety of tools in their land-use planning to prevent sprawl. One tool is a “greenbelt” composed of a ring of natural and agricultural land that is conserved to hem in urbanization.

Greenbelts have long been a popular planning method in Europe. Researchers at Concordia University compared 30 European cities with greenbelts to 30 without. They found decreases in urban sprawl in almost all of the greenbelt cities.

Struggling Against Sprawl in Rutherford County

February 26, 2026/1 Comment/in Dave Rollo, Economic Growth, Governance, KEEP Our Counties Great, Limits to Growth, Politics, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Wellbeing /by Alix Underwood

By Dave Rollo

Rutherford County is located in the central Tennessee farm belt. Its county seat, Murfreesboro, is precisely in the state’s geographic center, and it briefly served as Tennessee’s capital. But, because of greater commerce and superior roads, the legislature chose Nashville as the seat of power only a few years after statehood was granted in 1796. Decades later, Murfreesboro became a grim center of the Civil War. It was the site of the Battle of Stones River—a pivotal Union victory bought at the cost of immense casualties.

Elk County: A Story of Restoration and Recapitulation

January 23, 2026/3 Comments/in Conservation, Dave Rollo, Economic Policy, Energy, Fossil Fuels, Governance, KEEP Our Counties Great, Pollution, Steady State Herald, Water /by Alix Underwood

[This is an edited version of the article that first appeared on January 23, 2026. It has been edited for geographic accuracy in the first two paragraphs.]

by Dave Rollo

Pennsylvania is known for its public lands and forests. Beautiful Elk County, Pennsylvania, is no exception. It boasts rugged, forested scenery with rolling hills, deep valleys, numerous streams, and vast woodlands. Part of the Pennsylvania Wilds,

Revisiting the Fight for the Final Forest

December 11, 2025/1 Comment/in Conservation, Corruption, Dave Rollo, Economic Policy, Governance, KEEP Our Counties Great, Limits to Growth, Politics, Pollution, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

By Dave Rollo

The fight to save Sledge Forest in New Hanover County, covered in the Steady State Herald this past spring, continues in earnest. As reported then, Hilton Bluffs—a massive, 4,000-unit development—pits county residents against Copper Builders, an outside developer. The proposal threatens what locals refer to as “The Last Forest.” The community’s resistance, spearheaded by the group Save Sledge Forest, has continued and grown,

A Dry Reckoning for Finney County

November 13, 2025/4 Comments/in Dave Rollo, Environment, Food and Agriculture, Governance, KEEP Our Counties Great, Limits to Growth, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability, Water /by Alix Underwood

by Dave Rollo

Finney County lies in the southwest quadrant of Kansas and above the massive Ogallala Aquifer. Running mid-continent from the Dakotas to Texas, the Ogallala is the largest aquifer in North America. Once holding the volume equivalent of Lake Huron, the aquifer was first tapped for high-volume irrigation in 1909. This fundamentally transformed the landscape from ecologically diverse tallgrass prairie to energy- and water-intensive monoculture crops on an immense scale.

Liberty County, Florida: Globally Important Local Conservation

October 9, 2025/1 Comment/in Biodiversity, Conservation, Dave Rollo, Economic Growth, Endangered Species, Governance, KEEP Our Counties Great, Limits to Growth, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by Dave Rollo

In the “Anthropocene,” human economic activities dominate the Earth, at the immense expense of other species. Scientists are calling this the “sixth mass extinction,” as entire genera disappear 35 times faster than they have over the last million years. This biodiversity loss is happening worldwide, but it plays out at the local level. Likewise, combating the crisis requires local action.

In the United States,

Attempting a “SlowDown” in Stafford County

September 11, 2025/3 Comments/in Dave Rollo, Economic Policy, Governance, KEEP Our Counties Great, Politics, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by Dave Rollo

Stafford County, Virginia, is one of the oldest counties in the United States. Unsustainable development threatens its agrarian culture and residents’ quality of life. Uniquely, the local government has tools to measure the negative impacts of growth. However, they continue to incentivize big-box commercial and retail development. They are changing zoning, extending infrastructure, and failing to increase impact fees. The county’s supervisors are serving developer interests, and a developer currently serves on the planning commission.

In the Poconos, They’re Keeping Carbon County Great

June 19, 2025/2 Comments/in Conservation, Dave Rollo, Economic Policy, Environment, Governance, KEEP Our Counties Great, Money and Investments, Politics, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

By Dave Rollo

In Carbon County, Pennsylvania, the conservation ethic runs deep. It manifests in the county’s comprehensive plan, its “return on environment” analysis, and most recently, a fund to preserve open space, which voters overwhelmingly supported.

Carbon County derives its name from the abundant deposits of anthracite—the highest quality coal—that were once mined there. The county is located in the southern Pocono Mountains,

City Limits in the Hoosier State (Keeping Monroe County Great)

May 1, 2025/2 Comments/in Dave Rollo, Economic Growth, Governance, KEEP Our Counties Great, Politics, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Wellbeing /by Alix Underwood

by Dave Rollo

Monroe County, Indiana, lies just an hour south of the state capital (Indianapolis), yet it retains a rural character. The gently rolling hills and farmland of the Mitchell Plain characterize the central and western portions of the county. Porous limestone bedrock (known as karst) imposed limits on municipal water resources until the late 20th century, when the Army Corps of Engineers created Monroe Reservoir.