Why Renewable Energy
Renewable Energy
An important part of protecting wilderness is working to replace our use of dirty fossil fuels—coal, oil and natural gas—with cleaner energy alternatives.
Rich renewable energy resources found on our public lands — like wind energy and solar energy — play a key role in powering our future. These clean energy sources help stop global warming and provide alternatives to fossil fuels.
But in developing renewable energy on public lands, we shouldn’t sacrifice sensitive wildlands and wildlife habitat. By choosing the right places and methods for developing clean energy, we can ensure our environment and local economies stay healthy.
At Wilderness, we work to enhance conservation while seeking renewable energy alternatives that:
- Guide development away from sensitive wildlands and wildlife habitat
- Reduce energy use and promote energy efficient technologies
- Eliminate waste
- Help bring clean energy opportunities to local communities
Why renewable energy
America’s wildlands suffer when energy projects are developed in the wrong areas. Smart policies help us use power more efficiently, develop energy alternatives that protect air and water quality, deliver homegrown energy, address climate change and build projects away from sensitive wildlands.
Finding smart places
There are many places on public and private lands that can accommodate renewable energy development without undermining healthy landscapes and wildlife. This includes lands that already have been impacted by development.
Reducing impacts
When building renewable energy projects, we need to manage unavoidable impacts on wildlife and other resources. Smart policies help minimize impacts through better project design and operations.
Campaigns and projects
At Wilderness, our campaigns and projects focus on long-term commitments or policies that guide renewable energy to the right places. We work to ensure renewable energy projects set good examples for protecting sensitive wildlands.
Renewable energy FAQs
Have more questions about renewable energy? Our renewable energy FAQs can help.
Notes from the Hill
Stay current on legislation moving in Congress, issues affecting wilderness and wilderness designation campaigns with our Notes from the Hill.
Take Action
Add your voice to important wilderness causes and take action to stop threats to our wildlands by joining our community of wilderness activists.
Policy and Science Library
Find fact sheets, reports and other resources related to wilderness policy and conservation.
Friday, May 24, 2013The U.S. Coast Guard began multi-day investigatory hearings on May 20 into Royal Dutch Shell's drilling rig the Kulluk, which went aground near Kodiak Island, Alaska, last New Year’s Eve.
Thursday, May 23, 2013Which is why this week legislation that would protect these lands was introduced yet again, granting these lands another opportunity for well-deserved recognition and conservation.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013Yet, here we are, with people and the government unable to stop furloughs, job losses, and lower revenue to keep the government functioning. Our public lands have certainly not been spared from this indiscriminate budget ax.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013But Alaska’s Sen. Lisa Murkowski refused to accept that decision. She and residents of the tiny community of King Cove are fighting to have the decision overturned.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013Birdwatchers travel from far and wide to northwest Colorado to see male sage-grouse strut their stuff in hopes of attracting a mate. Early spring is prime season to catch these timid grouse dancing on the lek and shaking their tail feathers through organized tours.
Members of the Western Clean Energy Advocates (WCEA), signed a letter encouraging Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper to to sign SB 252, to increase the renewable energy portfolio standard for rural electric providers
. WCEA is a diverse and growing coalition working to transform the way we produce, use, and distribute energy across the West. WCEA aims to create jobs, protect the West’s water, wildlife, and ecosystems, address climate change, and enhance energy security.
Smart Steps to Establish a Responsible Program for Renewable Energy on Public Lands
Since its first day in office, the Obama Administration has made rapid and responsible expansion of renewable energy a top priority. The public lands have played a major role in achieving early goals, but only because of focused effort to correct decades of inattention and inactivity toward developing renewable energy as a major component of the nation’s energy mix.
Expanding energy development to meet the growing needs of America must be balanced with protecting vital wild places.
The Wilderness Society has launched a new quarterly report "By The Numbers" to track how many acres of American land have been protected by Congress and the Executive branch, and how many acres have been leased out to energy development.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013Witness testimony today by Noble’s Offshore Installation Manager Todd Case as he was questioned by the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that the Kulluk drill rig -- which Shell attempted to tow across the Gulf of Alaska with a single tow vessel before it broke loose and ran aground last New Year’s Eve -- should have had multiple tow vessels for safe transport.
Case was aboard the Kulluk when it went adrift and ran aground on a small island south of Kodiak.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013U.S. Representatives Don Young and Doc Hastings have introduced H.R. 1964 in an effort to scrap the Department of the Interior’s recently finalized, comprehensive plan for the western Arctic’s National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, the nation’s largest tract of public land. The bill is scheduled for a hearing tomorrow on Capitol Hill.
Monday, May 20, 2013Identifying smart steps the Obama Administration, including the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management, can take to continue building a responsible program for renewable energy are part of a “blueprint for action” released by The Wilderness Society today.