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Notable quotable

“Current economic growth, 11.5 percent or above 11 percent, is too fast and at too high a cost … The government should curb economic growth within a reasonable range that […]

New fishing quotas and Japanese whaling ships on notice

The European Union set quotas for 2008, with an 18 percent decrease for cod in most trawling areas except the North Sea, where quotas were raised by 11 percent. Scientists had pushed for cuts to less than half of 2006 levels ...

... the Swedish Board of Fisheries found that no cod had spawned in the waters between Sweden and Denmark this year ...

... two New Zealand fishing companies aimed to earn the Marine Stewardship Council's environmental standard for their Patagonian toothfish (Chilean sea bass) catch ...

...Australia announced plans to send planes and a ship to surveil Japanese whaling ships, and will use the photographs and video gathered in potential future legal action to force Japan to recognize a ban on hunting whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary ...

U.S. fertility rate now high enough to sustain population

Americans consume far more than their fair share of the world’s resources — and more Americans are on the way. The overall fertility rate in the U.S. increased 2 percent […]

Studs Terkel on reclaiming work

“Work is about daily meaning as well as daily bread. For recognition as well as cash; for astonishment rather than torpor; in short, for a sort of life rather than […]

The top green stories of 2007

Wow. That was something else. Green has gone from “dead” to ubiquitous in just a few short years, and it peaked with the crazy buzz of 2007, which kept us […]

Why have a real fire when you can download one?

Oh, the trials we face at holiday-time: A merrily burning Yule log is just so festive, but we can’t even enjoy the warmth for our guilt over the pollution it […]

Australia steps up to oppose Japanese whaling

This move by the Australian government is great news. Moral: elections matter! Let's hope other countries follow suit and stop this madness masquerading as "scientific research".

Explosion at Florida chemical plant causes deaths, evacuations

An explosion at a chemical plant that manufactures fuel additives and solvents has rocked the Jacksonville, Fla., area, forcing evacuations and causing an estimated three deaths. The blast at T2 […]

Menahem Anderman analyzes the state of car-battery technology

The following is a guest post by Marc Geller, who blogs at Plugs and Cars, serves on the board of directors of the Electric Auto Association, cofounded Plug In America and DontCrush.com, and appeared in Who Killed The Electric Car.

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Menahem Anderman, PhD, is Mister Battery Consultant. The California Air Resources Board, DOE, and Congress all seem to turn to him to analyze the state of battery technology. His reports always suggest batteries won't quite cut it for freeway-capable cars.

His report at CARB in 2003 seemed to suggest the electric cars then on the road couldn't be functioning as well as they were. Drivers of electric cars were stunned at his low opinion of the state of battery technology. He's always called upon, contracted with, and his report inevitably finds batteries wanting.

At EVS23, he stopped at the Plug In America booth to challenge what he felt was the overly optimistic tone taken by these advocates in their questioning at various sessions. One of the things he specifically said to Sherry Boschert, author of Plug-in Hybrids, to demonstrate the inadequacy of NiMH in electric cars was that the batteries have been replaced in many of Southern California Edison's fleet of RAV4-EVs. Chelsea Sexton of Plug In America inquired of Ed Kjaer at SCE to find out what the truth is. Here's what Mr. Kjaer wrote in response to the inquiry:

Al Gore named first runner-up for Time magazine’s Person of the Year

In what’s expected to be his final award of a very busy year, Al Gore was named first runner-up for Time magazine’s Person of the Year, followed by Harry Potter […]