PETROLEUM
Share of energy use:
37.1 percent
• Advantage: Fuels from petroleum are portable
and light for the amount of energy they contain, making them the fuel of choice for motor transportation as well as other uses
• Wildlife impacts: Habitat loss related to drilling and infrastructure; oil spills; acid rain and ocean acidification, noise from undersea exploration can disrupt animal communications
• Action: Reduce noise from underwater energy exploration in biologically critical habitats and during biologically critical seasons (e.g., mating, calving, feeding); avoid sensitive terrestrial habitats
COAL
Share of energy use:
22.5 percent
• Advantage: Most abundant fossil fuel in the U.S.
• Wildlife impacts: Greenhouse gases, mercury, other pollutants, acid rain, ocean acidification, habitat loss related to mining
• Action: Transition to other fuels when possible; develop technologies to reduce or contain emissions; reforest and reclaim mined areas
HYDROELECTRIC
Share of energy use:
2.5 percent
• Advantage: Renewable, large-scale electricity generation
•Wildlife impacts: Inundation of riparian habitat for reservoirs; disruption of aquatic ecosystems, especially for migratory fish such as salmon.
• Action: Identify sensitive wildlife and mitigate impact
WIND
Share of energy use:
0.5 percent
• Advantage: Renewable; zero emissions
• Wildlife impacts: Birds may strike turbine blades and towers; bats are also trapped and killed by wind vortices
• Action: Use data on migration pathways to inform decisions about siting
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NATURAL GAS
Share of energy use:
23.8 percent
• Advantage: Fewer harmful emissions than coal and oil
• Wildlife impacts: Habitat loss related to drilling and infrastructure; collisions between tankers and whales; potential for leaks of gas and contaminants; greenhouse gas emissions; ocean acidification
• Action: Enforce safeguards to water supplies and sensitive habitats; prevent collisions by requiring ships to slow down when endangered whales are nearby
NUCLEAR
Share of energy use:
8.5 percent
• Advantage: Generates electricity on a large scale with no greenhouse gas emissions
• Wildlife impacts: Habitat loss associated with fuel extraction, processing, waste management, siting, and infrastructure; short- and long-term release of radioactive materials
• Action: Contain radioactive materials at all stages of the fuel cycle
BIOMASS
Share of energy use:
3.9 percent
• Advantage: Renewable and carbon neutral, with cleaner emissions than from fossil fuels
• Wildlife impacts: Agricultural land set aside for conservation reserves is now reverting to row-crops for biofuels
• Action: Conduct research on ethanol production from crops that are more sustainable and provide more wildlife habitat than corn
SOLAR
Share of energy use:
<0.5 percent
• Advantage: Renewable; zero emissions
• Wildlife impacts: Large-scale application in natural areas, such as deserts, could cause habitat loss
• Action: Site installations on existing structures and already-developed land
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