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.'"
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Conrad Schneider
Biography provided by participant
Conrad Schneider has more than 15 years experience fighting air pollution and climate change. Conrad directs CATF's advocacy efforts, writes, and speaks on air pollution and climate change issues, and testifies before Congress and state legislatures and in federal and state administrative hearings. His advocacy work focuses on reducing pollution from power plants and diesel vehicles.
Prior to his work with CATF, Conrad served as regional coordinator for the Northeast power plant campaign and as Air and Energy Project Coordinator with the Natural Resources Council of Maine. While at NRCM, Conrad played a key role in the campaign to enact EPA's 1997 revised health standards for smog and soot, and wrote Maine's original ozone transport petition. He served as law clerk to Judge Robert H. Hall of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta Division) and as a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice. He holds a J.D. from the University of Virginia and a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Conrad currently serves on the board of directors of the Center for Clean Air Policy in Washington, D.C. and teaches Environmental Law and Policy at Bowdoin College.
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