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
Lisa Jacobson
Biography provided by participant
Lisa Jacobson serves as the President of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy and manages the day-to-day operations of the organization.
Ms. Jacobson has advised states and federal policymakers on energy, tax, air quality and climate change issues. She serves as a private sector observer to the World Bank's Climate Investment Fund and is a member of the Department of Energy's State Energy Efficiency steering committee. Ms. Jacobson has testified before Congress and has represented clean energy industries before the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and other multilateral energy, environment and sustainability forums.
Prior to her position with the BCSE, Ms. Jacobson was a legislative aide to the U.S. Congress; received a Masters in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science; and a Bachelors degree in Political Science from the University of Vermont.
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