TECHNICAL REPORT

ON THE

AUDUBON ENERGY PLAN

APRIL 1981

National Audubon Society, 950 Third Avenue, New York, New York 10022

The National Audubon Society is one of the nation's

oldest, largest, and most experienced membership organizations

devoted to the conservation and protection of the natural environ

ment which supports both humankind and wildlife. 425,000 members backed by a full-time staff of 200.

The Society has

The major architects of the Audubon Plan are listed The Plan was developed using the inputs from many comprehensive studies prepared by prestigious private and governmental

below.

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FOREWORD

Energy is a major factor in determining the quality of

our lives. It furthers the production of goods and services, and its production and use seriously impact on the quality of our

environment.

The Audubon Energy Plan is a practical plan for our country to obtain adequate energy while protecting the environment. It is based on the conviction that by using energy more efficiently our economy can continue to grow and prosper, providing an increased level of goods and services for all at least until the year 2000 without consuming any more energy than is being used today. The Audubon Plan envisions a steady increase in the use of solar energy (25 percent by the year 2000) which will cause a steady decrease in environmental pressures from traditional energy sources. The Plan is a low-cost energy strategy and provides the

most rapid route to national energy security.

Audubon's Role in the Energy Debate

Audubon's concern is with life--plant, animal, and human-and the air, water, and land so essential to life. This broad interest which has evolved over the past eighty years began with the successful fight by a group of highly motivated activists to stop the slaughter of plumed birds. Continued activity in the

conservation of wildlife resulted in an awareness of the inter

connectedness of life--ecology--and led Audubon men and women to become environmentalists dedicated to protecting the life-support systems of our planet.

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The production and use of energy have a major impact on

our environment.

Pollution of the air stems primarily from the

burning of fossil fuels in our factories and powerplants,

auto

mobiles, and homes. It is the major cause of the acid rain which falls throughout much of the world, destroying fish life and plant life and corroding buildings. Oil spills contaminate beaches

everywhere.

Hydroelectric projects flood valuable wildlife habitat.

The accumulation of radioactive waste threatens life for millennia. (Because of Audubon's special concern with wildlife and the habitat on which it depends, a detailed catalog of the impact of energy facilities on wildlife and wildlife habitat has been prepared and will soon be released.)

On the other hand, the production and use of energy are essential to a modern style of life. Audubon is convinced that we can have enough energy to continue the growth of production of goods and services while at the same time protecting the

environment.

One reason will be a marked increase in the efficiency with which we use energy; in other words, an increase in the productivity of energy. Because the Audubon Plan requires much less coal, oil, and nuclear power than are envisioned in the plans of the energy industries and the federal government, it will dramatically curtail environmental damage from strip-mining, air pollution, acid rain, and the production of nuclear wastes. Sulfur oxide air pollution and rain acidity will actually drop well below current levels. The Audubon Plan will also ensure that environmental safety is built into the new energy-conservation and renewable energy technologies at early stages rather than added to them half-heartedly decades later.