E2-Wire

OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Waxman, environmental advocate, heads for exit

by Laura Barron-Lopez - 01/30/14 6:10 PM ET

IN WAXMAN THEY TRUST: Green groups gushed about outgoing Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) on Thursday after news broke that he would be retiring after 40 years in Congress.

“For nearly two generations, Henry Waxman has been a stalwart champion for our environment and public health,” said Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council. “In every battle, at every juncture, in every moment that mattered most, Rep. Waxman stood up for the air we breathe, the water we drink, the lands we love and the wildlife we cherish.”

{mosads}Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune expressed the green group’s sadness at the news, calling on future lawmakers to follow Waxman’s example.

“Henry Waxman’s retirement marks a sad day, but his legacy will serve as an inspiration to keep up the fight he has championed for so long,” Brune said in a statement. “Make no mistake — Henry Waxman’s service and leadership have done nothing less than help ensure action on climate disruption and clean air are national priorities.”

Waxman announced his retirement Thursday morning, reflecting on his battles against special interests on environmental policy and climate change issues.

“It took a decade of effort to pass the landmark Clean Air Act of 1990, but the controls on urban smog, toxic air pollution, acid rain, and ozone-depleting chemicals have saved lives and vastly improved our air quality,” Waxman said in a statement.

More recently, Waxman formed the Safe Climate Caucus in the House and the Bicameral Task Force with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).

ON TAP FRIDAY: Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will be delivering remarks highlighting Obama’s State of the Union address and the administration’s work to make the U.S. a magnet for jobs in science, engineering and the like.

Pew Charitable Trusts will hold a call reviewing the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevenson Act and what it means for U.S. fisheries.

AROUND THE WEB:

NPR dives into North Dakota’s natural-gas boom, which is producing more than the state knows what to do with. The only option for drillers: burn the excess natural gas.

“People are estimating it’s about $1 million a day just being thrown into the air,” says Marcus Stewart, an energy analyst with Bentek Energy.

Companies in North Dakota are trying to beef up an effort to capture all the natural gas that is being flared in the Bakken oil field by the end of the decade, The New York Times reports.

Keystone XL opponents hope they can block the construction of the controversial pipeline by arguing the State Department should review Keystone XL and a second pipeline’s environmental impacts together, Bloomberg reports.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Here’s what ran on E2-Wire on Thursday …

– Senators push EPA to rethink changes to renewable fuel mandate
– Boxer: ‘Unacceptable delay’ in U.S. Fukushima response
– Energy panel’s new power duo open to bill lifting crude export ban
– ‘Darwin Day’ bill rips creationism
– Dingell could be interested in top Energy and Commerce slot
– Fearing they’ll ‘be next’ industries unite against Obama’s climate change rules
– Shell gives up on Arctic drilling for 2014
– Snowden document: US spied on foreign leaders for 2009 climate meeting
– Senators debate lifting crude export ban