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 Wood
Biography provided by participant
Lisa Wood is the Executive Director of IEE, an Institute of The Edison Foundation focused on Innovation, Electricity, and Efficiency. IEE works with the electric utility industry and the regulatory community to advance electricity innovation, new technologies, energy efficiency, and customer-side solutions.
Wood launched IEE after more than two decades consulting with electric utilities on retail customer issues. In that role, she directed economic, financial, and market analysis studies for leading electric utilities nationwide. Prior to joining IEE, Wood was a Principal with The Brattle Group and Director of the Washington DC office. Prior to that, she was a Principal with PHB Hagler Bailly and a Program Director at Research Triangle Institute.
Through numerous articles, dialogues, and speaking engagements, Wood contributes to the conversation on innovation in the power sector, smart technology, smart pricing, energy efficiency, distributed power, and customer-side issues. She is a member of the Board of Directors for Energate, Inc., a smart grid technology firm and on the Advisory Board for American Efficient, a high technology efficiency firm.
Wood also serves on the Board of Directors for the National Energy Foundation; the Board of Directors for the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance; the Executive Leadership Group for the State Energy Efficiency Action Network; and is a member of the International Association for Energy Economics. She also serves as an Advisor to Johnson Controls' Institute for Building Efficiency and previously served on the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council for American Electric Power.
Wood is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University where she teaches Energy in a Low Carbon World and is a Fellow in the Energy Security Initiative at the Brookings Institution. She holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.
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