Lighting the Way - Responsibly

Posted in response to the National Journal question: “How bright is renewable energy’s future?“

Jamie Rappaport Clark, President

Defenders’ president and CEO, Jamie Rappaport Clark

We are lucky to be in a position to be able to adopt policies and practices that simultaneously help us become more responsible energy consumers and more responsible stewards of the earth, right from the start of development. Using our conservation knowledge and experience to inform renewable project planning, we can make sure that projects: are sited away from unique and sensitive lands, including crucial wildlife habitats; minimize conflict with wildlife and other important natural resources; and fully cheap valium mitigate the impacts that do occur and can’t be avoided– that is what successful renewable energy development entails.

It’s easy to get excited about the potential of renewable energy for saving money, reducing carbon dioxide levels and lowering our dependence on dirty oil and gas. But we have a duty to not only help protect species and ecosystems by reducing the threat of climate change, but also to be good stewards of healthy but sensitive landscapes that are resilient in the face of a changing climate and extreme weather – using certain natural resources in new ways does not have to mean abusing others.