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 Conover
Biography provided by participant
David Conover has more than 20 years of experience in public policy, having served in both the federal executive and legislative branches, as well as in the private sector at a major corporation. His executive branch service was as acting assistant secretary and principal deputy assistant secretary for policy and international affairs at the Department of Energy, as well as the director of the U.S. Climate Change Technology Program. In Congress, Conover was staff director & chief counsel of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Earlier, Conover was with CH2M-Hill and had extensive experience in the environmental law and management fields. He holds a J.D. cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. with highest honors from the University of Virginia. He is licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
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