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
Gary Fazzino
Biography provided by participant
Gary Fazzino was named vice president of Government Affairs at Applied Materials, Inc., in July 2009 and is responsible for overseeing all of the Company's global government relations programs
Prior to joining Applied Materials, Fazzino most recently served as Hewlett-Packard's vice president of Government and Public Affairs from May 2000 to June 2009, where he was responsible for shaping public policies and building relationships worldwide with government officials, community leaders, non-governmental organizations and business partners to advance HP's interests. Over the years, Fazzino has held a number of positions with increasing responsibilities at HP, including Northwest Public Affairs manager, State Government Affairs manager and director of Federal Public Policy in Washington, D.C.
Fazzino served as Mayor of Palo Alto for two terms and was elected to the Palo Alto City Council five times. From 1996-1998, he served as the first president of the Technology Network, a national public policy and political organization, and also served as chairman of the Santa Clara County Transportation Authority from 1992 to 1995. Fazzino is actively involved in the community and currently serves on several boards, including the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), the Coro Foundation, Junior Statesmen Foundation, San Jose Sports Authority, and the Eben Tisdale Fellowship Fund.
Fazzino holds a bachelor of arts degree in religious studies from Stanford University, a master of arts in public policy from Occidental College, and a master of business administration from the University of Washington.
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