Environmental Ethics Fellowship
The Fellowship in Environmental Ethics is awarded to outstanding Santa Clara University undergraduates to support a project that examines the ethical implications of an environmental topic.
2026-27 Environmental Ethics Fellowship
The rapid expansion of data centers raises a set of ethical dilemmas about who should bear the environmental costs of digital infrastructure and who should have a voice in deciding whether those costs are acceptable. The 2026-27 Environmental Ethics Fellowship will be dedicated to the development of a user-friendly ethical framework to help persons and communities think through the ethical challenges brought on by the global push for data centers. The framework will draw on literature in environmental ethics and on key arguments from Magnificent Humanity, the encyclical on AI issued in May 2026 by Pope Leo XIV.
Data centers can require substantial amounts of electricity and water, generate air pollution through backup generators, and place new demands on local infrastructure, while the benefits of the computing services they support are often distributed far beyond the communities where the facilities are located. This creates a question of distributive justice: is it fair for local communities to bear concentrated environmental and resource costs for technologies whose economic and social benefits are widely dispersed? There is also a question of responsibility and transparency: should data center operators be required to disclose their actual water consumption, energy use, emissions, and impacts on local resources, rather than leaving regulators and communities to estimate them? And when those impacts are uncertain or cumulative, how much evidence should be required before a project is approved? These questions become particularly difficult when data centers bring jobs, tax revenue, and technological investment, because the ethical issue is not simply whether their environmental impacts are acceptable, but who gets to decide what tradeoffs are acceptable, who bears the risks, and whether affected communities have enough information and power to meaningfully participate in that decision.
2025-26 Environmental Ethics Fellowship
The 2025-26 fellowship focused on the ethical issues related to groundwater contamination in agricultural areas of California like the Central Valley, Salinas Valley, and Pajaro Valley. A painful contradiction shaped the work of the fellowship: The State of California affirms the human right to clean water as a matter of policy at the same time as tens of thousands of California residents cannot rely on the safety of their primary water source due to extensive nitrate contamination from agricultural runoff.
The fellows worked together with SCU faculty and Ethics Center staff to write a public document that makes clear the key ethical dimensions of this situation and that provides ethical grounds for policy change.
2025-26 Environmental Ethics Fellows
Caleigh Detels '26
I am currently a senior at SCU working towards getting my degree in environmental studies with minors in anthropology and sustainability. I am from Seattle, Washington which is where I learned my love for the environment! My interest in environmental ethics stems from my firm belief of standing up against injustice and being a good citizen of the world. I hope to make a positive impact on my community!
Sam Lei '26
I'm majoring in Environmental Science with four minors in biology, geospatial analysis, public health, and sustainability. My hometown is San Francisco, and my passion for environmental ethics began when I was exposed to the living conditions in Bayview Hunters Point, as communities were living in the aftereffects of naval shipyards used during nuclear warfare testing in WWII. The degradation amongst the community's livelihoods, the environment, and the relationship between left a strong imprint on me. As a senior, I am preparing to apply for my PhD program focused on the intersection between hydrology, biogeochimistry, and public health to advocate for improved water quality amongst disadvantaged communities. Afterwards, I plan to pursue a research career at the federal level to promote effective policy supporting human and environmental rights.
Andrew Schatz '26
Andrew is a senior from Cupertino, California, with a major in Environmental Science and a double minor in Biology and Geospatial Analysis. He works in the Trace Metals lab on campus, including support for the Climate and Water Justice lab with water contaminant analysis, and also working on paleoclimate research. In his free time Andrew enjoys photography, hiking, and playing video games.