A growing energy footprint requires careful thought about our world’s energy mix, but even a renewable energy future is not necessarily a green one. Many renewable energy sources have a large footprint which can threaten biodiversity and conservation. With rising energy demands around the world expected to convert one-fifth of remaining natural lands, is it possible to balance energy development with biodiversity protection?  

Edited by scientists Joseph M. Kiesecker and David E. Naugle, Energy Sprawl Solutions: Balancing Global Development and Conservation provides a roadmap for an energy future that conserves functional and connected ecosystems. Informed by experts in diverse fields such as conservation, ecology, ecosystem services, landscape planning, energy, economics, finance, and more, this contributed volume calls for a collaborative approach that engages industry, the environmental community, national governments, and international agencies. We already have the tools necessary to forecast where and how energy development should take place to protect natural spaces. With this book, Kiesecker and Naugle show how.

Read Chapter 3: Energy Sprawl and Wildlife Conservation below.