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
Fred Krupp
Biography provided by participant
During his 23 years as head of Environmental Defense Fund, Krupp has overseen the growth of EDF from a small nonprofit with budget of $3 million into a recognized worldwide leader in the environmental movement. Under his direction, EDF's full-time staff has increased from 50 to 400, membership has expanded from 40,000 to more than 500,000 and new offices have opened in Raleigh, Austin, Boston, Sacramento and Beijing, China.
Krupp, who was educated at Yale and the University of Michigan Law School, is also the co-author of Earth: The Sequel - The Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global Warming.
He is widely recognized as a champion of harnessing market forces for environmental ends, such as the market-based acid rain reduction plan in the 1990 Clean Air Act. Krupp broke ground by engaging American companies to lessen their impact on the environment. He also helped launch a corporate coalition, the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, whose Fortune 500 members -- Alcoa, BP, Caterpillar, and GE.
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