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
David Banks
Biography provided by participant
Dave Banks is Managing Director of Vanguard Political - a strategic consultancy that works to bridge and integrate state and local advocacy efforts with lobbying campaigns in Washington. He also serves as a policy adviser to the Heartland Institute and the Alliance of Wise Energy Decisions, an informal coalition of activists focused on energy and environment policy.
Before his advocacy work, Banks was Republican Deputy Staff Director of the United States Senate Environment & Public Works (EPW) Committee. Prior to the Senate, Banks was a lobbyist and consultant at Boyden Gray & Associates, and during the Bush Administration, he was the Senior Adviser on International Affairs and Climate Change at the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). Banks' CEQ work was later recognized by the Obama Administration, earning him an EPA Climate Protection Award for Diplomacy. Earlier in his career, Banks served as a diplomat in the State Department and as an economic analyst for the CIA.
Recent Responses