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
Tom Amontree
Biography provided by participant
Tom Amontree is Executive Vice President of America's Natural Gas Alliance, which is dedicated to increasing appreciation of the environmental, economic and national security benefits of clean, abundant and affordable North American natural gas. Tom oversees all external and internal operations and manages public policy, reputation building and media relations to advance ANGA member priorities.
Tom comes to ANGA after serving eight years as Senior Vice President of Strategic Communications & Industry Affairs at the United States Telecom Association, which represents the nation's broadband providers. There, Tom pursued the organization's public policy priorities through successful and innovative strategic communications initiatives.
Prior to USTelecom, Tom was Vice President for Strategic and Litigation Communications at the American Trucking Associations. In that role, he was instrumental in leading the association to a series of legislative and public relations victories that raised ATA's profile in Washington, D.C. and transformed the organization into one of the most powerful trade associations in the nation's capital.
Tom also served for many years as USDA Director of Communications and senior advisor to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman. During the 1992 presidential election, Tom was press spokesman for the Clinton/Gore Campaign in the key battleground state of Ohio. Before joining the campaign, he spent 10 years in broadcast journalism, as a senior reporter for KATV, in Little Rock, AR, and at WWSB-TV, in Sarasota, FL
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