Energy & Environment: Markey Wants Answers on Rare Earths
• Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., "is pressing the Obama administration for information about alleged Chinese restrictions on the export of rare earth minerals used in defense and energy technologies, warning of threats to U.S. interests," The Hill reports.
• "Three months after BP capped its runaway well in the Gulf of Mexico, the state of Louisiana is still building a chain of sand berms off its coast to block and capture oil even as federal officials and many scientists argue that the effort will prove pointless," the New York Times reports.
• An Idaho couple has "sued the state to stop the shipments by Imperial Oil and ConocoPhillips" to an oil sands site in Canada, "arguing that the" truck loads delivered there "would threaten the integrity of Idaho's historic portion of U.S. 12, as well as the safety of communities that depend on it as the main road in and out of the area," the Times also reports. "National environmental groups and climate change activists are supporting their efforts, seeing a broader opportunity to stall development of Canada's oil sands, which they denounce as a dirty source of energy. "
• "Combating climate change has long taken a back seat to coal production in West Virginia, but in the hard-fought House race in this state's 1st district, global warming hasn't even made it onto the bus," The Hill reports. "In interviews on Thursday, both the Democratic and Republican nominees for Congress voiced skepticism of the science behind global warming, and the Republican, David McKinley, flatly called concerns about climate change 'an attack on coal.'"
Contributor
Christine Todd Whitman
Biography provided by participant
Christine Todd Whitman served in the cabinet of President George W. Bush as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from 2001 to 2003. She was the 50th Governor of New Jersey, serving as its first woman governor from 1994 until 2001.
Prior to becoming Governor, she was the President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and served on the Somerset County board of Chosen Freeholders.
Since leaving the EPA, Gov. Whitman has served as President of The Whitman Strategy Group (WSG), a consulting firm that specializes in energy and environmental issues. WSG offers a comprehensive set of solutions to problems facing businesses, organizations, and governments; they have been at the forefront of helping leading companies find innovative solutions to environmental challenges.
In 2006, Governor Whitman was named a co-chair of the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition, an organization dedicated to promoting the benefits of nuclear energy. She is also co-chair of the Republican Leadership Council (RLC), which she founded with Senator John Danforth, and is the author of a 2005 New York Times best seller, "It's My Party Too."
Governor Whitman serves on the Board of Directors of S.C. Johnson and Son, Inc., Texas Instruments Inc., and United Technologies Corporation.
She also serves on a number of non-profit organizations including the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Board of Trustees' Executive Committee of the Eisenhower Fellowships. She is a member of the board of directors of the American Security Project and Americans Elect. She is a co-chair of the Aspen Health Stewardship Project and a member of the advisory boards of Reform New Jersey Now and the Institute of Politics at Harvard University.
Governor Whitman has a BA in government from Wheaton College in Norton, MA.
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