Israel seizes land for settlement expansion...

EFRAT, West Bank – Plans to expand a West Bank settlement by up to 2,500 homes drew Palestinian condemnation Monday and presented an early test for President Barack Obama, whose Mideast envoy is well known for opposing such construction. Israel opened the way for possible expansion of the Efrat settlement by taking control of a nearby West Bank hill of 423 acres. The rocky plot was recently designated state land and is part of a master plan that envisions the settlement growing from 9,000 to 30,000 residents, Efrat Mayor Oded Revivi said....Link

Storing solar energy by turning over a new leaf..

One of the most exciting talks at AAAS dealt with a breakthrough that might finally give the much-vaunted hydrogen economy a chance. Daniel Nocera, Professor of Energy and Professor of Chemistry at MIT gave a plenary lecture on a novel catalyst developed in his laboratory, one that takes inspiration from the photosynthetic pathways within plant cells to split water into H2 and O2, allowing the H2 to be used as fuel. Meeting the world's future energy demand is going to need the sun, according to Nocera, and that's only going to happen if we can store that energy for use when it's not shining. This makes sense; plants evolved to make use of high-energy chemical bonds, and the oil, gas, and coal we currently use is just stored sunshine (via plants), albeit concentrated. Hydrogen is the only viable answer compared to batteries, capacitors, or mechanical storage schemes such as pumped water or compressed air once you look at energy density, he explained, and the work from his lab might help make that possible...Link

Your'e Fired................

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – California, which is on the brink of running out of cash, will notify 20,000 state workers on Tuesday their jobs may be eliminated, a spokesman for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said on Monday. The announcement came a day after California lawmakers narrowly failed to pass a $40 billion budget that would have plugged the state's deficit with a mix of tax hikes and spending cuts...Link