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
Will Rogers
Biography provided by participant
Will Rogers is the Bacevich Fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). At CNAS, Mr. Rogers' research focus is on science, technology and national security policy. He has authored or co-authored a range of publications on energy, climate change, environmental cooperation in Asia and cybersecurity. He is the author of, most recently, "Security at Sea: The Case for Ratifying the Law of the Sea Convention," and "The Role of Natural Resources in the South China Sea." He is also the editor of the CNAS Natural Security Blog and the Choke Points Blog at ConsumerEnergyReport.com
Prior to joining CNAS, Mr. Rogers was an intern with the Environmental Change and Security Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars where he frequently wrote on environmental security for The New Security Beat. Previously, he served as a legislative intern in the office of U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer. He has studied abroad at the University of Auckland, in Auckland, New Zealand, where he was a recipient of the 2007 Political Studies Senior Prize Scholarship. Mr. Rogers has a B.A. in Political Science-International Relations from the University of California, San Diego, with an emphasis in U.S. national security and foreign policy. He is currently a graduate student in Georgetown University's Security Studies Program.
Recent Responses