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
Jack Gerard
Biography provided by participant
Gerard is the head of the American Petroleum Institute, the national trade association that represents all aspects of America's oil and natural gas industry. He brings a strong industry trade association background to API, as well as experience on Capitol Hill.
Gerard most recently served as president and CEO of the American Chemistry Council, and earlier held the same title at the National Mining Association. Gerard also spent close to a decade working in the Senate and House. He came to Washington in 1981, and worked for Rep. George Hansen. He also worked for Sen. James A. McClure, who chaired the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. When Sen. McClure retired in 1990, Gerard joined him in founding McClure, Gerard & Neuen-schwander, Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based government relations consulting firm.
Gerard serves as chairman of the National Capital Area Council - Boy Scouts of America, is co-chair of The George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management's Council on American Politics and is a member of the Conservation Fund's Corporate Council. Gerard is on the Board of Directors for the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Juris Doctor from George Washington University.
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