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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Dennis McGinn
Biography provided by participant
In 2011, Retired Vice Admiral Dennis V. McGinn took the helm as President of the American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE). ACORE is dedicated to creating a more secure and prosperous America with clean, renewable energy. ACORE seeks to advance renewable energy through finance, policy, technology, and market development and is concentrating its member focus in 2012 on National Defense & Security, Power Generation & Infrastructure, and Transportation.
For more than a decade Admiral McGinn has been actively engaged in efforts at the national level to highlight the close link between energy, climate and national security. He is a strong advocate for innovative government policy, public and private partnerships, and investments that will promote clean energy growth and innovation. He has testified before the U.S. Congress on the national and economic security implications of climate change and our dependence on fossil fuels, highlighting the need for action on clean energy. He is a widely recognized energy and national security expert, who has interviewed with major news networks and national journalists. He is regularly asked to participate in public forums about energy and national security and has been published in newspaper articles and opinion pages across the country. Admiral McGinn serves as co-chairman of the CNA Military Advisory Board advising policy makers on the nexus of energy and national security, and as an international security senior fellow at the Rocky Mountain Institute. He is also a director of the National Conference on Citizenship.
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