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Former EPA head goes to work for Apple

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Michael Bastasch DCNF Managing Editor
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Former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson has been hired by Apple to head up the company’s environmental initiatives.

Jackson left the EPA in February while at the center of an email scandal that sparked internal agency and congressional investigations.

The Daily Caller News Foundation reported last year that Jackson was using the alias email account “Richard Windsor” to conduct official business, which drew criticisms that she was attempting to dodge public oversight. It was later revealed that she had used the account to correspond with environmental activists.

“EPA has shown an absolute disregard for transparency with their email practices, but this one is pretty bizarre,” said Louisiana Republican Sen. David Vitter. “We also know now that Lisa Jackson used the alias ‘Richard Windsor’ to correspond outside of the EPA, including with environmental activists.”

“Do I regret naming it [that]?” Jackson later told an audience at Princeton University. “I wish that I had stuck with my original inclination and just left it ‘admjackson,’ although I’m sure somebody would have decided that that was too obscure as well, but you take that and then you assign a motive to it.”

Several other EPA officials that worked under Jackson were also found to be violating agency policies on email use.

Acting EPA administrator Bob Perciasepe was caught using a private email account to conduct official business, and former EPA Region 8 administrator James Martin was found using his private email to correspond with environmental groups. Martin subsequently resigned earlier this year.

Apple may be a good fit for Jackson as the company is known for its environmental activism.

In 2009, Apple left the U.S. Chamber of Commerce over the organization’s opposition to rules aimed at reducing global warming. The company has also made efforts to cut its own greenhouse gas emissions.  In 2012 Apple got three-quarters of its energy from renewable sources.

“I’m incredibly impressed with Apple’s commitment to the environment and I’m thrilled to be joining the team,” Jackson told Politico.

“Apple has shown how innovation can drive real progress by removing toxics from its products, incorporating renewable energy in its data center plans, and continually raising the bar for energy efficiency in the electronics industry,” she added. “I look forward to helping support and promote these efforts, as well as leading new ones in the future aimed at protecting the environment.”

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