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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Elizabeth Moler
Biography provided by participant
Moler joined Exelon Corporation (formerly Unicom) in January 2000. She heads the company's Washington, D.C. office, and serves as a member of Exelon's strategy and policy committee.
Before moving to the private sector, Moler had a long career in government service. She was a staff member on Capitol Hill for 20 years. She served as counsel and senior counsel for the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources from 1976 to 1988 under Senators Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson and J. Bennett Johnston.
In 1988, she was appointed by President Reagan to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton reappointed her. In 1993, she was designated by President Clinton to serve as the commission's chair. Under her leadership FERC adopted a landmark initiative to require utilities to open their transmission lines on an equal access basis to their competitors, paving the way for robust wholesale competitive electricity markets. She continued to serve as the commission's chair until June 1997, when she was appointed deputy secretary of the Energy Department.
She resigned her duties in governmental service in October 1998. During 1999 she was a partner in the law firm of Vinson & Elkins and a member of the Unicom board of directors. Moler received her bachelor's degree from American University and her law degree from George Washington University.
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