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Kristen Billings

Kristen Billings is a freelance writer and graphic designer based in the Midwest. She holds an M.S. in Community and Environmental Sociology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and previously worked as an editor at In These Times and Edge Effects.

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Kristen's Latest Articles

A collage illustration with a yellow slate background. Fragments of natural gas pipelines, positioned at an angle from the bottom left corner, extend into the center of the image and connect to yellow and turquoise data cables that then connect to server ports. Below that is a cut-out of a power plant in greyscale. In the upper left corner, a $100 American bill with Benjamin Franklin's face is shown, which, in the lower half, cuts into a greyscale image of a data center.
Wisconsin energy utilities sacrifice affordability and sustainability to fuel the AI gold rush
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Politics
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February 9, 2026

Gas plants used to power data centers increase costs for consumers, risk of exposure to pollutants, and accelerate the harms of climate change.

Collage showing power lines, electricity meters, solar panels, and clouds of pollutants spewing from smoke stacks.
It’s time to dump MGE and Alliant for a new paradigm
By
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Politics
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August 1, 2023

Rising electricity rates, rising temperatures, and the case for public renewables.