Wind Power, Global Warming and Alternative Energy Sources

New Jersey Audubon Society is part of a coalition of groups working to address global warming and alternative energy sources.

New Jersey Audubon Society recognizes that global warming is a major threat to plants, animals and natural communities.  The solution to global warming includes energy conservation, development of renewable energy sources and reduction of greenhouse gas emission.  Over the next decade, the state’s electricity demand is expected to grow by at least 14 percent. 

Global warming is threatening NJ’s robust nature-based tourism industry.  Wildlife related recreation plays an important role in the success of the State’s economy with over $5.6 billion generated in 2001.   However, temperature increases due to increased CO2 levels can shift avian summer ranges, reduce aquatic habitat quality for trout, tiger salamanders and spotted salamanders, and cause changes in soil composition that can alter habitat.

Click here and see what New Jersey Audubon Society is doing about Global Warming.  Document is in PDF format.

Wind farms are a renewable energy source that can help in the reduction of greenhouse gases, but they can also harm wildlife if not properly sited.  On May 4, 2005, New Jersey Audubon, in conjunction with Princeton University The Program in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy (STEP), New Jersey Public Interest Research Group and Princeton Environmental Institute, sponsored a symposium to explore the environmental costs and benefits of wind energy - one alternative energy source that can help in the reduction of greenhouse gases.

Please click here to download the Wind Energy Symposium Proceedings in PDF format. You may also want to review our Wind Energy Opinions from July 2003 and August 2003.  An additional resource that may be of interest is the American Bird Conservancy’s report on climate change (click here to view).