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
Margo Thorning
Biography provided by participant
Dr. Margo Thorning is senior vice president and chief economist with the American Council for Capital Formation and director of research for its public policy think tank. Thorning also serves as the managing director of the International Council for Capital Formation, a new think tank incorporated in Brussels. The ICCF is an affiliate of the ACCF.
In North America, Thorning has testified as an expert witness on capital formation and environmental issues before various U.S. congressional committees, including the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, the Joint Economic Committee, the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, the House Ways and Means Committee, the House Commerce Committee, and the House Committee on Government Reform. She recently made a presentation "Investing in Energy and Industrial Development: Challenges and Opportunities" at a UN Commission on Sustainable Development meeting. She also served on DOE's Electricity Advisory Board's Subcommittee on Standards of Conduct and Corporate Practices. She also has testified before the Senate of Canada on that country's proposals for tax reform.
Thorning is an internationally recognized expert on tax, environmental, and competitiveness issues. She writes and lectures on tax and economic policy, is frequently quoted in publications such as the Financial Times, Suddeutsche Zeitung, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal, and has appeared internationally on public affairs news programs. Thorning has made presentations on the economic impact of climate change policy at forums sponsored by the ICCF in China, India, other Asian countries, the European Union, and Russia.
Thorning is coeditor of numerous books on tax and environmental policy, including "Climate Change Policy and Economic Growth: A Way Forward to Ensure Both" and "The U.S. Savings Challenge: Policy Options for Productivity and Growth."
Previously, Thorning served at the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the Federal Trade Commission.
Thorning received a B.A. from Texas Christian University, an M.A. in economics from the University of Texas, and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Georgia.
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