title: Self-publishing

text: In the traditional publishing model, editors and publishers act as a filter or screen, weeding out possibly radical, badly written, or otherwise substandard content. In contrast, self-publishing enables authors to bypass this filter and sell their books directly to the public. The wide-open uncensored nature of self-publishing has caused problems and controversies with pornographic or abuse-themed content. Amazon has a policy against selling content relating to rape and incest and bestiality which states "We don't accept pornographic or offensive depictions of graphic sexual acts", but it is sometimes difficult for book distributors to distinguish what type of content is acceptable and what is not. Some retailers have had to remove problematic content.A survey found that self-published erotica had more extreme themes than mainstream books. Erotica is about one percent of the mainstream market but 29 percent of the self-published market, according to one informal survey in 2013.


title: Self-publishing

text: There have been some controversial self-published books, such as that of a man who posted a photo of his dead wife, whom he had murdered. Celebrity Kim Kardashian self-published a 445-page book which consisted entirely of selfies, a book described in "Slate magazine" as having "no literary ambitions at all – it barely has words."


title: Self-publishing

text: While editors at a traditional publisher would often insist on fact-checking, and doing due diligence regarding claims made by an author, there are no requirements in the self-publishing model for this to happen. Self-publishing has attracted political provocateurs such as Milo Yiannopoulos who was able to publish his tome "Dangerous" on Amazon despite being dumped by traditional publisher Simon & Schuster as well as Breitbart after a video surfaced of him condoning pedophilia.


title: Self-publishing

text: As a check on self-published content, and as part of its overall strategy of empowering consumers by giving more information, Amazon permits reviews of its products, including books that it sells. However, it is possible for self-published authors to "game" the Amazon review system to make their books appear better than they are, perhaps by encouraging large numbers of five-star reviews by paying anonymous reviewers to write fake laudatory comments. According to one view, the system is at serious risk of fraud and deception. Amazon has responded by emphasizing reviews in which the book purchase is verified, and it has fought back by, in some cases, suing people and service firms who sell fake reviews.


title: Self-publishing

text: A problem for some successful self-published authors is plagiarism. It is relatively easy for a manuscript to be copied and changed in superficial ways, but changed sufficiently so that it is hard for plagiarism-detecting software to catch the similarities between the real book and the plagiarized copy; then the copy can be uploaded online under a new title and different author name, which can earn royalties for the plagiarist. For example, author Rachel Ann Nunes, who wrote "A Bid for Love" in 1998, found that her manuscript had been plagiarized, with a nearly identical book entitled "The Auction Deal". Nunes hired a lawyer to track down the plagiarists. In the previous publisher-dominated system, a publisher would have been liable for selling a plagiarized book, but in the world of self-publishing, there are no liabilities involved if Amazon removes the plagiarized titles. It is often difficult to catch and prosecute the plagiarists, who can use false identities.


title: Self-publishing

text: The publishing industry, including self-publishing, is changing so rapidly that it is hard to make accurate predictions about where it is headed. It is likely that self-publishing will continue to grow, and that authors will demand more and more data about their readers as well as how well their books are selling. Self-publishing is growing in marketing sophistication and ambition, according to one view.


title: Self-publishing

text: Regarding the e-book market, there are predictions that independent authors will be grabbing an increasing slice of this market. Traditional publishers are losing ground in the e-book market, according to several sources. E-books published by traditional publishers declined by 11 percent from 2015 to 2016. The drop in e-book sales was really more of a phenomenon in which established publishers were raising the prices of their e-books, and saw a relative decline in sales compared to their print offerings. In contrast, sales of self-published e-books have been increasing. An increasing number of e-books are being read on tablets as opposed to dedicated E-book readers. One forecast was that digital sales would continue to increase over time, and paper-based publishing would become a "niche market" like with newspapers and magazines.


title: Self-publishing

text: A report in 2017 suggested that Amazon was working on a system to transform foreign language fiction into English with its AmazonCrossing service. Amazon accounted for 10 percent of all translated foreign fiction books, according to one report.


title: Self-publishing

text: The author as a self-publisher also takes on many of the creative tasks to complete the finished works, which include creative writing as well as selecting the writing software, editing, marketing, and cover design. While self-publishing means that the author is in "control" of the entire process of production, from writing and editing, to layout to distribution, and to choosing publishing platforms and selecting marketing variables such as the price, many of these tasks can be outsourced to professionals. Professionals can be located through search engines, freelancing websites such as Reedsy,), word of mouth, identifying and contacting creative assistants who have worked on already-published books, and searching relevant forums. Authors can spend up to $5000 for a variety of services to assist with publishing.


title: Self-publishing

text: There is strong agreement that self-published authors fare better if they are able to employ a skilled editor, preferably one with a financial interest in the success of the book, and who can bring a savvy understanding of the market as well as a strong sense of story development. Self-published author James Altucher describes working with an editor:


title: Self-publishing

text: A liability for self-published authors is that if they can find a skilled editor, he or she is still being "paid" by the author for upfront editing work, and may not care whether the book is successful or not. A big advantage for working with a traditional publishing arrangement is having an editor and publisher who have a financial interest in making the book a bestseller.


title: Self-publishing

text: A self-published author is responsible for the technical aspects of self-publishing, which include formatting for printing and digital conversion. Formatting can be complex and time-consuming but patient people can learn how to do it by themselves, but often hire this task out to experienced freelancers.


title: Self-publishing

text: Unless a book is to be sold directly from the author to the public, an International Standard Book Number or ISBN is required to uniquely identify the title. ISBN is a global standard used for all titles worldwide. Most self-publishing companies either provide their own ISBN to a title or can provide direction about how to get one. A separate ISBN is needed for each edition of the book. It may be in the best interest of the self-published author to retain ownership of the ISBN and copyright instead of using a number owned by a vanity press.


title: Self-publishing

text: The direction of the marketing and promotion effort is the responsibility of the author. Self-published authors can negotiate to have audiobooks made.


title: Self-publishing

text: The dominant self-publishing platform is Amazon which controls the vast share of the market, but there are numerous competitors and platforms in which authors can upload and sell their books.


title: Self-publishing

text: Kindle Direct Publishing or KDP is Amazon's e-book publishing unit which was launched when the company began selling its Amazon Kindle book reading device in 2007. Books can be published in numerous languages. Amazon's KDP has hundreds of thousands of self-published titles. Amazon's KDP program uses ASIN identifiers instead of ISBNs to identify e-books. Amazon does not release sales figures of its authors. Many authors prefer Amazon for its global clout and reach. One analysis suggested that Amazon earned $2.3 billion from e-book revenues in 2016, and 25 percent of these were from self-published e-books; and Amazon released 4 million e-book titles in 2016, and 40 percent of them were self-published. Another estimate was that Amazon controls 70 percent of the e-book market.


title: Self-publishing

text: Amazon's "Kindle Unlimited" service lets readers read any books in its catalog, provided that the users pay a monthly fee. Amazon tracks which books are selected and read by subscribers. An author who wants to have their book included in this program enters into Amazon's "KDP Select" program, and as part of the agreement, the author promises to make their book exclusive to Amazon. The author can opt out of the KDP program every ninety days. An estimate in 2017 was that of Amazon's Kindle Unlimited market, about 60 percent of the books read and borrowed were self-published. Amazon initially began the program by paying authors whenever their book was chosen, but then it switched to an arrangement in which it pays authors based on pages read. Each month, Amazon establishes a fund from which to pay authors, based on Amazon's accounting of which pages are read. Amazon has been criticized for short-changing authors by paying them out of this monthly fund. As a result of the program, many Amazon authors found that their income decreased substantially when the company switched to the pages-read basis. The collective fund for KDP authors in August 2017 was $19.4 million which was the "largest ever" of the monthly funds, but overall authors received the lowest amount, which was $0.00419 per page for that month. Some authors tried to compensate for less income by slightly altering and republishing their work, to try to increase the total of pages read. The change to the pages-read model was criticized as being a "huge pay cut" for authors. None of the big 5 publishers contributed books to Kindle Unlimited as of 2017.


title: Self-publishing

text: IngramSpark lets authors publish digital, hardback and paperback editions of their books. It distributes books to most online bookstores. Bricks-and-mortar stores can also order books from IngramSpark at wholesale prices for sale in their own venues. It is run by Ingram Content Group.


title: Self-publishing

text: Apple sells books via its App Store which is a digital distribution platform for its mobile apps on its iOS operating system. Apps can be downloaded to its devices such as the iPhone, the iPod Touch handheld computer, and the iPad. Apple pays authors 70 percent of its proceeds at its Apple iBookstore where it sells iBooks.


title: Self-publishing

text: Smashwords is a California-based company founded by Mark Coker which allows authors and independent publishers to upload their manuscripts electronically to the Smashwords service, which then converts them into multiple e-book formats which can be read on various devices. Authors control what price is set.


title: Self-publishing

text: Barnes & Noble pays 65 percent of the list price of e-books purchased through its online store called Pubit.


title: Self-publishing

text: Kobo is a Canadian company which sells e-books, audiobooks, e-readers and tablet computers which originated as a cloud e-reading service.


title: Self-publishing

text: Scribd is an open publishing platform which features a digital library, an e-book and audiobook subscription service. It began as an online sharing site for books, and evolved into a store; books published there entitle an author to 80 percent of the sales price.


title: Self-publishing

text: PublishDrive is an online firm which helps authors with every stage of the self-publishing process, including design of their books, distribution and marketing.


title: Self-publishing

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title: Self-publishing

text: Print-on-demand (or POD) publishing refers to the ability to print high-quality books as needed. This is usually the most economical option for self-publishers who expect sales to be sporadic over time. An alternative is to hire a printing press to do a print run in which a large number of books are printed at one time, such as a hundred or a thousand copies, which can result in a slightly lower per-book printing cost, but risks holding onto unsold inventory for an extended period. Print-on-demand means that a book is printed only after it is purchased, lessening the risk, which eliminates the need for expensive warehouse space. Many companies allow single books to be printed at per-book costs which are not much higher than those paid by publishing companies for large print runs. Ingram is the largest book distributor, and it can help self-published authors get access to 39,000 bookstores, according to one report. The physical quality of print-on-demand self-published books is generally the same as that from an established publisher, although quality can in some instances vary.


title: Self-publishing

text: Generally self-publishing works best with e-books because, unlike print-on-demand self-publishing, it solves the twin problems of price and distribution. There are a variety of e-book formats and tools that can be used to create them. Because it is possible to create e-books with no up-front or per-book costs, this is a popular option for self-publishers.


title: Self-publishing

text: A major development in this century has been the growth of web fiction, on the Internet. A common type is the web serial. Unlike most modern novels, web fiction novels are frequently published in parts over time. Web fiction is especially popular in China, with revenues topping US$2.5 billion, as well as in South Korea. Online literature in China plays a much more important role than in the United States and the rest of the world. Most books are available online, where the most popular novels find millions of readers. They cost an average of 2 CNY, or roughly a tenth of the average price of a printed book. Shanda Literature Ltd. is an online publishing company that claims to publish 8,000 Chinese literary works daily. Joara is S. Korea's largest web novel platform with 1.1 million members, 140,000 writers, an average of 2,400 serials per day and 420,000 works. Joara's users have almost the same gender ratio, and both fantasy and romance genres are popular.


title: Self-publishing

text: Users pay to have their books published. While a commercial publisher's market is the book-buying public at large, the vanity publisher's market is the author himself or herself. Some authors buy substantial copies of their own book which are then used as giveaways or promotional tools. The term "vanity press" is considered pejorative since it suggests that a person who hires such a service is unqualified or unable to have their book succeed in the market, and that the author is printing the book only out of vanity. In this business model, there can be elements of fraud, such that some vanity presses masquerade as legitimate publishers, and pretend to be selective and choosy in their book selections, and prey upon a would-be author's desire to be published. If a vanity press charges a higher amount to print a run of books than a regular printer, it can be an indication of deception and fraud.


title: Self-publishing

text: CreateSpace was Amazon's print-on-demand book publishing service. Authors could sign up for an account, and the online software guided an author through the steps of publication, such as uploading a cover, selecting distribution channels and setting prices. Books uploaded to CreateSpace became part of Amazon's online catalog and were made available to book buyers around the world. Amazon collected revenues from book sales on behalf of authors, and then deposited royalty monies directly into an author's account, usually after a few months or so after the sale. CreateSpace offered additional services to help authors, such as cover design and copyediting ($120+) as well as converting the manuscript file to a Kindle-compatible e-book file ($70). CreateSpace offered authors free book identifying numbers or ISBNs without extra charge, or authors could buy their own ISBNs. In August 2018 CreateSpace was absorbed into Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).


title: Self-publishing

text: Smashwords publishes and distributes e-books. Smashwords authors keep 60 percent of the sale price, and Smashwords keeps 10%, and the retailer keeps 30%; if a sale is made directly through Smashwords, the author keeps 85 percent of the sales price. Smashwords provides a list of freelance assistance services. In 2017, it distributed 250,000 titles for 60,000 authors to most of the world's e-book stores in exchange for a cut of the author's profits. Smashwords books can go on sale a few minutes after they're uploaded.


title: Self-publishing

text: Lulu publishes print and e-books and offers publishing-related services such as website design, cover design, editing packages, and strategies for social media promotions. It was founded in 2002. Lulu charges nothing upfront, and each time a book is sold, it keeps 20 percent of the profit and pays 80 percent to the author. Lulu offers additional services such as editing ($450) and cover design ($130) and other services such as design and formatting which can cost from $700 to $5000. Lulu enables authors to print books not only in paperback form, but in hardcover and comic book forms as well.


title: Self-publishing

text: Author Solutions sells services such as editing, e-book production and marketing services. According to one report, it served 170,000 authors who wrote 200,000 titles as of 2017. Penguin Random House, a mainstream publisher, once bought, then sold, Author Solutions.


title: Self-publishing

text: FastPencil sells editing services, as well as consulting services related to publishing and distribution, for a fee.


title: Self-publishing

text: Matador is the self-publishing imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd, a traditional publishing company based in Leicester, United Kingdom. In the last 19 years Matador has published over 5000 titles in book and ebook formats, approximately 500 titles a year. The company not only has print 'on demand' distribution, but sales representation by Star Book Sales and distribution to retailers via Orca Distribution. It published Louise Walters second novel, "A Life Between Us", in 2017, as well as Polly Courtney's "Golden Handcuffs" and Ben Hunt-Davis' "Will It Make the Boat Go Faster", which sold over 40,000 copies.


title: Self-publishing

text: There are a variety of freelance professionals available through the Internet who can assist with a wide variety of publishing-related tasks.


title: Self-publishing

text: There is wide consensus that since the market is flooded with titles, the most difficult task facing self-published authors is attracting attention to their book. Some authors have tried unconventional methods to cut through the clutter. For example, self-published author James Altucher offers to pay readers if they can prove they bought and read his book; he explained that people are more likely to value what they pay for, and this offer entices them to actually read his book. While he takes a small loss each time a reader accepts his offer, overall he feels it promotes sales. Experimentation helps. One strategist suggested that an author should have a creative marketing campaign and try one tactic each day, while studying those tactics undertaken by successful self-publishers. One author spends roughly $70,000 annually creating and promoting her books, and hires a dozen freelancers for various parts of her operation. Another self-published author gave 80 books to friends, who told their friends, to generate positive publicity. A strategy that helps many self-published authors is to write a series, making the first installment free, and charging for subsequent versions.


title: Self-publishing

text: Most book contests are open only to books published by established publishers, but there are a few contests open to self-published writers. One is the Illinois Library Association, in conjunction with BiblioBoards and with Reaching Across Illinois Library System, which sponsored a prize for best self-published novel; the contest is open to Illinois-based self-published writers. The British newspaper "The Guardian", in conjunction with selected publishers, has a "Self published book of the month" award, which began in 2014; entries are submitted digitally and must be in the English language, and the contest is open only to residents of the United Kingdom.


title: Self-publishing

text: While almost all self-published books do not make much money, there are dozens of self-published books that have broken through to huge audiences and success, and which get much media attention. The number of authors who have sold more than one million e-books on Amazon from 2011 to 2016 was 40, according to one estimate.


title: Self-publishing

text: Traditional publishers can offer editorial guidance, marketing muscle, and access to well-established channels of distribution, and have been the preferred choice for writers for the past century. Still, there are increasing advantages for self-publishing, and there are increasing instances of writers moving between both the traditional and self-publishing models, for various reasons. Self-publishing is an increasingly likely choice for authors who are "midcareer, midlist, middle-aged, more or less middlebrow, and somewhat Internet savvy," writes journalist Neal Pollack, who extols the promise of being able to reach readers directly. Elizabeth Prybylski, publisher of Insomnia, an indie press, describes the main difference between self-publishing and traditional publishing is "who puts up the overhead of production."


title: Self-publishing

text: Analyses have been made suggesting that self-published authors' earnings have been comparing favorably to earnings from established publishers, and this may be a factor causing established authors to switch to the self-publishing approach. While a self-published author can typically keep 70 percent of the sales price, a typical contract with a publisher will be payment of an advance sum such as $5000 to $10,000, plus receiving 25 percent of digital sales and sevent percent to 12 percent of the list price for bound books, which the author will receive after the publisher recoups the money paid for the advance to the author.


title: Self-publishing

text: Authors being published the traditional way have seen their income from publishing decline in recent years. A survey from the Authors Guild found that authors with contracts with established publishers were making 30 percent less money in 2015 than they had been making in 2009. Talented writers in traditional publishing, who have won prizes and awards, are earning less, with some living at or near the poverty line. Some books sell only 5,000 to 20,000 copies, some less than that. Factors identified as dampening the income levels of such authors include the online piracy of digital material, major publishing houses consolidating to focus more on profits, and the rise of Amazon and self-publishing.


title: Self-publishing

text: Some writers have been dissatisfied with the marketing efforts of a traditional publisher. One writer got fed up when the publisher made basic mistakes with a book launch, and so he "decided to take his book back" and self-published it. He hired the firm Reedsy to redesign his book "The Pink Marine", and went on to form his own imprint. Novelist Louise Walters felt that traditional publishers were "debut-centric" and obsessed with celebrities. David Mamet, whose book "The Secret Knowledge: On the Dismantling of American Culture" had been on the New York Times bestseller list, chose to release his novella by self-publishing. He had been dissatisfied with the marketing efforts of his traditional publisher. There was a report that suggested that traditional publishers have lessened their marketing efforts on behalf of authors. Another example is romance novelist Courtney Milan who switched to self-publishing because she wanted to have "more agency over the background of her characters" and her stories. Some photographers, who felt hemmed in by the traditional photo book publishing world, have started up their own imprints as a way to publish their own books. Writer Sarah Grimm moved away from the traditional publishing approach to self-publishing because she wanted greater control over cover design, publication dates and the story content.


title: Self-publishing

text: Novelist Louise Walters explained why she switched to the self-publishing mode, after her publisher rejected her second novel, describing self-publishing as an "exhilarating change":


title: Self-publishing

text: Still, it is likely that when a self-published author creates a bestseller, that he or she will accept an offer from a major publisher. Some traditional publishers troll the lists of bestselling self-published titles to look for new books to sell. Smashwords president Mark Coker predicted that it will become more difficult for traditional publishers to entice the best self-published authors, simply because traditional publishers don't pay as much. Successful self-published authors have been courted by literary agents and publishers offering substantial sums of money. It's getting harder for established publishers to woo away successful self-published authors since the royalty structure they offer may not match the profits to be made from publishing on their own.


title: Jehovah's Witnesses and blood transfusions

text: Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the Bible prohibits Christians from accepting blood transfusions. Their literature states that, "'abstaining from ... blood' means not accepting blood transfusions and not donating or storing their own blood for transfusion." The belief is based on an interpretation of scripture that differs from other Christian denominations. It is one of the doctrines for which Jehovah's Witnesses are best known.


text: Jehovah's Witnesses' literature teaches that their refusal of transfusions of whole blood or its four primary components—red cells, white cells, platelets and plasma—is a non-negotiable religious stand and that those who respect life as a gift from God do not try to sustain life by taking in blood, even in an emergency. Witnesses are taught that the use of fractions such as albumin, immunoglobulins and hemophiliac preparations are not absolutely prohibited and are instead a matter of personal choice.


text: The doctrine was introduced in 1945, and has undergone some changes since then. Members of the group who voluntarily accept a transfusion and are not deemed repentant are regarded as having disassociated themselves from the group by abandoning its doctrines and are subsequently shunned by members of the organization. Although the majority of Jehovah's Witnesses accept the doctrine, a minority do not.


text: The Watch Tower Society has established Hospital Information Services to provide education and facilitate bloodless surgery. This service also maintains Hospital Liaison Committees, whose function is to provide support to adherents.


text: Certain medical procedures involving blood are specifically prohibited by Jehovah's Witnesses' blood doctrine. This includes the use of red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and blood plasma. Other fractions derived from blood are not prohibited. Watch Tower publications state that some products derived from one of the four primary components may be so similar to the function of the whole component and carry on such a life-sustaining role in the body that "most Christians would find them objectionable". For procedures where there is no specific doctrinal prohibition, individuals are to obtain details from medical personnel and then make a personal decision.


text: The following procedures and products are not prohibited, and are left to the decision of individual members:


text: A variety of bloodless surgical techniques have been developed for use on patients who refuse blood transfusions for reasons that include concern about AIDS, hepatitis, and other blood-borne infections, or immune system reactions. Many physicians have expressed a willingness to respect patients' preferences and provide bloodless treatment and about 200 hospitals offer bloodless medicine and surgery programs for patients who wish to avoid or limit blood transfusions. Bloodless surgery has been successfully performed in significant procedures including open-heart surgery and total hip replacements. A 2012 study in "JAMA Internal Medicine" concluded that "Witnesses do not appear to be at increased risk for surgical complications or long-term mortality when comparisons are properly made by transfusion status. Thus, current extreme blood management strategies do not appear to place patients at heightened risk for reduced long-term survival." The study also stated that "Survival estimates of Witnesses were 86%, 69%, 51%, and 34% at 5, 10, 15, and 20 years after surgery, respectively, vs 74%, 53%, 35%, and 23% among non-Witnesses who received transfusions."


text: Bloodless medical and surgical techniques have limitations, and surgeons say the use of various allogeneic blood products and pre-operative autologous blood transfusion are appropriate standards of care for certain patient presentations. The Watch Tower Society states that in medical emergencies where blood transfusions seem to be the only available way to save a life, Jehovah's Witnesses request that doctors provide the best alternative care possible under the circumstances with respect for their personal conviction. The Watch Tower Society has acknowledged that some members have died after refusing blood.


text: In some countries, including Canada and the United Kingdom, a parent or guardian's decision can be legally overruled by medical staff. In this case, medical staff may act without consent, by obtaining a court order in a non-emergency situation, or without such in an emergency. In Japan, children under 15 can be administered blood transfusions against their and their parents' wishes, and children between the ages of 15 and 18 can be similarly treated provided they, or at least one of their legal guardians, consent to the procedure. In the United States, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that in cases of "an imminent threat to a child's life", physicians in some cases may "intervene over parental objections".


text: In 1988, the Watch Tower Society formed "Hospital Information Services", a department to help locate doctors or surgical teams who are willing to perform medical procedures on Witnesses without blood transfusions. The department was given oversight of each branch office's "Hospital Information Desk", and of one hundred "Hospital Liaison Committees" established throughout the United States. As of 2003, about 200 hospitals worldwide provide bloodless medical programs. As of 2006, there are 1,535 Hospital Liaison Committees worldwide coordinating communication between 110,000 physicians.


text: Hospital Information Services researches medical journals to locate information on the availability and effectiveness of bloodless surgery methods. It disseminates information about treatment options to local Hospital Liaison Committees, and to doctors and hospitals.


text: Annually since 2004, Jehovah's Witnesses in the United States have been informed that "with your consent, the law allows for the elders to learn of your admission [to hospital] and provide spiritual encouragement", but that "elders serving on a Patient Visitation Group [could] have access to your name" only if patients made their wishes known according to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).


text: Jehovah's Witnesses' branch offices communicate directly with congregations regarding "ways to benefit from the activities of the Hospital Liaison Committee (HLC) and the Patient Visitation Group (PVG)." A Jehovah's Witnesses publication in 2000 reported that Argentina had fewer than a hundred HLC committeemen "giving vital information to the medical community", adding that "their work is complemented by hundreds of other self-sacrificing elders who make up Patient Visitation Groups that call on Witness patients to help and encourage them". Each branch office appoints PVG committeemen, who serve as volunteers.


text: Since the elaboration of the blood doctrine to the point of prohibiting transfusion, the majority of Jehovah's Witnesses have adopted the organization's position. Those Jehovah's Witnesses who accept the blood doctrine typically hold strongly to their conviction. In the August 1998 issue of "Academic Emergency Medicine", Donald Ridley, a Jehovah's Witness and organization staff attorney, argued that carrying an up-to-date Medical Directive card issued by the organization indicates that an individual personally agrees with the established religious position of Jehovah's Witness.


text: In 1958, "The Watchtower" reported on a particular member of Jehovah's Witnesses who voluntarily accepted blood transfusion, contrary to Watch Tower Society doctrine. The organization confirms that members have accepted blood transfusions, despite the imposition in 1961 of a communal shunning policy for willful acceptance.


text: In 1982, a peer-reviewed case study of a congregation of 59 Jehovah's Witnesses was undertaken by Drs. Larry J. Findley and Paul M. Redstone to evaluate individual belief in respect to blood among Jehovah's Witnesses. The researchers stated, "The members of this congregation are adamant in their refusal to accept all blood products... Not one of the members stated they would receive a blood transfusion even if their refusal meant death, Almost one third of the respondents had personally refused blood transfusions". However, the study also showed that seven respondents were willing to accept plasma transplants and one member an autotransfusion, both therapies forbidden by Jehovah's Witnesses' doctrine. The researchers commented, "There is either some lack of understanding or refusal to follow doctrine among some members". The researchers noted that contact details of the respondents were provided by congregation elders, which may have influenced the responses given. Another peer-reviewed study examining medical records indicated a similar percentage of Jehovah's Witnesses willing to accept blood transfusions for their children. Young adults also showed a willingness to accept blood transfusions. In another study, Jehovah's Witness patients presented for labor and delivery showed a willingness to accept some form of blood or blood products. Of these patients, 10 percent accepted whole blood transfusion.


text: Watch Tower publications have noted that within religions, the personal beliefs of members often differ from official doctrine. Regarding Jehovah's Witnesses' acceptance of the organization's official position on blood, Drs Cynthia Gyamfi and Richard Berkowitz state, "It is naïve to assume that all people in any religious group share the exact same beliefs, regardless of doctrine. It is well known that Muslims, Jews and Christians have significant individual variations in their beliefs. Why should that not also be true of Jehovah's Witnesses?"


text: Ambivalence and rejection of the blood doctrine dates back to at least the 1940s. After the Watch Tower Society established the doctrine, teaching that blood should not be eaten (–1931), Margaret Buber, who was never a member of the denomination, offered a firsthand eyewitness account of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Nazi Ravensbrück concentration camp. She relates that an overwhelming majority were willing to eat blood sausage despite having alternate food to choose from, and specifically after considering biblical statements regarding blood.


text: From 1931, when the name "Jehovah's witnesses" was adopted, Watch Tower Society publications maintained the view of Society founder Charles Taze Russell that the reference to abstaining from the eating of blood in the Apostolic Decree of Acts 15:19–29 was a "suggestion" to be given to Gentile converts. Watch Tower publications during the presidency of Joseph Franklin Rutherford commended the commercial and emergency uses of blood. A 1925 issue of "The Golden Age" commended a man for donating blood 45 times without payment. In 1927, "The Watchtower" noted, without elaboration, that in Genesis 9, God decreed that Noah and his offspring "must not eat the blood, because the life is in the blood". In 1940, "Consolation" magazine reported on a woman who accidentally shot herself with a revolver in her heart and survived a major surgical procedure during which an attending physician donated a quart of his own blood for transfusion.


text: In 1944, with the Watch Tower Society under the administration of president Nathan Homer Knorr, "The Watchtower" asserted that the decrees contained in Genesis 9:4 and Leviticus 17:10–14 forbade the eating or drinking of blood in biblical times "whether by transfusion or by the mouth" and that this applied "in a spiritual way to the consecrated persons of good-will today, otherwise known as 'Jonadabs' of the Lord's 'other sheep'."


text: In September 1945, representatives of the Watch Tower Society in the Netherlands commented on blood transfusion in the Dutch edition of "Consolation". A translation of their comments into English reads: According to sociologist Richard Singelenbreg, the statement appearing in the Dutch edition of "Consolation" may have been published without knowledge of the doctrinal position published in the English July 1945 issue of "Consolation" by the Watch Tower Society's headquarters in the United States.


text: In 1945, the application of the doctrine on blood was expanded to prohibit blood transfusions of whole blood, whether allogeneic or autologous. The prohibition did not specify any punitive measures for accepting a transfusion, but by January 1961—in what was later described as an application of "increased strictness"—it was ruled that it was a disfellowshipping offense to conscientiously accept a blood transfusion. The Watch Tower Society warned that accepting a blood transfusion "may result in the immediate and very temporary prolongation of life, but that at the cost of eternal life for a dedicated Christian."


text: In September 1956, "Awake!" stated, "certain blood fractions ... also come under the Scriptural ban". A position against "the various blood fractions" was reiterated in September 1961. In November of the same year, the doctrine was modified to allow individual members to decide whether they could conscientiously accept fractions used from blood for purposes such as vaccination. This position has been expanded on since; the pre-formatted Durable Power of Attorney form provided by the Watch Tower Society includes an option for Jehovah's Witnesses to "accept all fractions derived from any primary component of blood."


text: In 1964, Jehovah's Witnesses were prohibited from obtaining transfusions for pets, from using fertilizer containing blood, and were even advised (if their conscience troubled them) to write to dog food manufacturers to verify that their products were blood-free. Later that year, it was stated that doctors or nurses who are Jehovah's Witness would not administer blood transfusions to fellow dedicated members. As to administering transfusions to non-members, "The Watchtower" stated that such a decision is "left to the Christian doctor's own conscience."


text: In 1982, an article in "The Watchtower" stated that it would be wrong for Witnesses to allow leeches to feed on their own blood as part of a medical procedure, due to the sacredness of blood.


text: In 1989, "The Watchtower" stated, "Each individual must decide" whether to accept hemodilution and autologous blood salvage (cell saver) procedures. In 1990, a brochure entitled "How Can Blood Save Your Life?" was released, outlining Jehovah's Witnesses' general doctrine on blood.


text: In 2000, the Watch Tower Society's stand on blood fractions was clearly stated. Members were instructed to personally decide if accepting a fraction would violate the doctrine on blood. In a later article, members were reminded that Jehovah's Witnesses do not donate blood or store their own blood prior to surgery.


text: In May 2001, the Watch Tower Society revised its medical directives and identity cards addressing its doctrinal position on blood; the revised materials were distributed from May 3, 2001. These revised documents specified that "allogeneic blood transfusions" were unacceptable whereas the former document (dated 1999) stated that "blood transfusions" were unacceptable. The revised 2001 documents were active until December 20, 2001. The Watch Tower Society then rescinded the revised document, stating, "After further review, it has been determined that the cards dated "md-E 6/01" and "ic-E 6/01" should not be used. Please destroy these items and make sure that they are not distributed to the publishers." Elders were instructed to revert to the older 1999 edition of the medical directives and identity cards.


text: Opposition to the Watch Tower doctrines on blood transfusions has come from both members and non-members. A group of dissident Witnesses known as Associated Jehovah's Witnesses for Reform on Blood (AJWRB) states that there is no biblical basis for the prohibition of blood transfusions and seeks to have some policies changed. In a series of articles in the "Journal of Medical Ethics" US neurologist Osamu Muramoto, who is a medical adviser to the AJWRB, has raised issues including what he claims is coercion to refuse transfusions, doctrinal inconsistency, selective use of information by the Watch Tower Society to exaggerate the dangers of transfusions and the use of outdated medical beliefs.


text: Dissident Witnesses say the Society's use of Leviticus 17:12 to support its opposition to blood transfusions conflicts with its own teachings that Christians are not under the Mosaic law. Theologian Anthony Hoekema claims the blood prohibited in Levitical laws was not human, but animal. He cites other authors who support his view that the direction at Acts 15 to abstain from blood was intended not as an everlasting covenant but a means of maintaining a peaceful relationship between Jewish and Gentile Christians. He has described as "absurd literalism" the Witnesses' use of a scriptural prohibition on eating blood to prohibit the medical transfusion of human blood.


text: Osamu Muramoto has argued that the refusal by Jehovah's Witnesses of "life-saving" blood treatment creates serious bio-medical ethical issues. He has criticized the "controlling intervention" of the Watch Tower Society by means of what he claims is information control and its policy of penalising members who accept blood transfusions or advocate freedom to choose blood-based treatment. He says the threat of being classified as a disassociated Witness and subsequently shunned by friends and relatives who are members coerces Jehovah's Witnesses to accept and obey the prohibition on blood transfusions. In one particular case involving a Russian district court decision, however, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found nothing in the judgments to suggest that any form of improper pressure or undue influence was applied. It noted: "On the contrary, it appears that many Jehovah's Witnesses have made a deliberate choice to refuse blood transfusions in advance, free from time constraints of an emergency situation." The court said: "The freedom to accept or refuse specific medical treatment, or to select an alternative form of treatment, is vital to the principles of self-determination and personal autonomy. A competent adult patient is free to decide ... not to have a blood transfusion. However, for this freedom to be meaningful, patients must have the right to make choices that accord with their own views and values, regardless of how irrational, unwise or imprudent such choices may appear to others."


text: Muramoto has claimed the intervention of Hospital Liaison Committees can add to "organisational pressure" applied by family members, friends and congregation members on Witness patients to refuse blood-based treatment. He notes that while HLC members, who are church elders, "may give the patient 'moral support', the influence of their presence on the patient is known to be tremendous. Case reports reveal JW patients have changed their earlier decision to accept blood treatment after a visit from the elders." He claims such organizational pressure compromises the autonomy of Witness patients and interferes with their privacy and confidentiality. He has advocated a policy in which the Watch Tower organization and congregation elders would not question patients on the details of their medical care and patients would not disclose such information. He says the Society adopted such a policy in 1983 regarding details of sexual activity between married couples.


text: Watch Tower spokesman Donald T. Ridley says neither elders nor HLC members are instructed or encouraged to probe into the health care decisions of Witness patients and do not involve themselves in patient hospitalisations unless patients request their assistance. Yet Watch Tower Society HLC representative David Malyon says he would respond to "sin" of Witnesses he is privy to by effectively saying "Are you going to tell them or shall I!" Nevertheless Ridley says Muramoto's suggestion that Witnesses should be free to disregard Watch Tower scriptural teachings and standards is preposterous. He says loving God means obeying commandments, not disobeying them and hiding one's disobedience from others.


text: Muramoto recommends doctors have a private meeting with patients to discuss their wishes, and that church elders and family members not be present, enabling patients to feel free of church pressure. He suggests doctors question patients on (a) whether they have considered that the Watch Tower Society might soon approve some medical practices they currently find objectionable, in the same manner that it has previously abandoned its opposition to vaccination and organ transplants; (b) whether Witness patients know which blood components are allowed and which are prohibited, and whether they acknowledge that those rulings are organizational policy rather than biblical teachings; and (c) whether they realize that although some Bible scriptures proscribe the eating of blood, eating and transfusing blood have entirely different effects on the body. HLC representative David Malyon has responded that Muramoto's suggested questions are an affront to coerce Jehovah's Witnesses with "complicated philosophical inquisition" and, if used by doctors, would be "an abusive transformation of the medical role of succour and care into that of devil's advocate and trickster".


text: Muramoto has claimed many Watch Tower Society publications employ exaggeration and emotionalism to emphasize the dangers of transfusions and the advantages of alternative treatments, but present a distorted picture by failing to report any benefits of blood-based treatment. Nor do its publications acknowledge that in some situations, including rapid and massive haemorrhage, there are no alternatives to blood transfusions. He states that Watch Tower Society publications often discuss the risk of death as a result of refusing blood transfusions, but give little consideration to the prolonged suffering and disability, producing an added burden on family and society, that can result from refusal. Attorney and former Witness Kerry Louderback-Wood also claims that Witness publications exaggerate the medical risks of taking blood and the efficiency of non-blood medical therapies in critical situations.


text: Douglas E. Cowan, an academic in the sociology of religion, has claimed that members of the Christian countercult movement who criticize the Watch Tower Society, make selective use of information themselves. For example, Christian apologist Richard Abanes wrote that their ban on blood transfusions, "has led to countless Witness deaths over the years, including many children." Cowan wrote: "When the careful reader checks [Abanes' footnote], however, looking perhaps for some statistical substantiation, he or she finds only a statistical conjecture based on 1980 Red Cross blood use figures." Cowan also says Abanes omits "critical issues" in an attempt to "present the most negative face possible." Cowan wrote that "the reader is left with the impression that the Watchtower Society knowingly presides over a substantial number of preventable deaths each year."


text: Osamu Muramoto says the Watch Tower Society relies on discarded, centuries-old medical beliefs to support its assertion that blood transfusions are the same as eating blood. The Watch Tower Society's 1990 brochure "How Can Blood Save Your Life?" quoted a 17th-century anatomist to support its view. Muramoto says the view that blood is nourishment—still espoused in Watch Tower publications—was abandoned by modern medicine many decades ago. He has criticized an analogy commonly used by the Society in which it states: "Consider a man who is told by the doctor that he must abstain from alcohol. Would he be obedient if he quit drinking alcohol but had it put directly into his veins?" Muramoto says the analogy is false, explaining: "Orally ingested alcohol is absorbed as alcohol and circulated as such in the blood, whereas orally eaten blood is digested and does not enter the circulation as blood. Blood introduced directly into the veins circulates and functions as blood, not as nutrition. Hence, blood transfusion is a form of cellular organ transplantation. And ... organ transplants are now permitted by the WTS." He says the objection to blood transfusions on the basis of biblical proscriptions against eating blood is similar to the refusal of a heart transplant on the basis that a doctor warned a patient to abstain from eating meat because of his high cholesterol level.


text: David Malyon, chairman of the English Hospital Liaison Committee in Luton, England, has claimed that Muramoto's discussion of the differences between consuming blood and alcohol is pedantic and says blood laws in the Bible are based upon the reverence for life and its association with blood, and that laws should be kept in the spirit as much as in the letter.


text: Muramoto has described as peculiar and inconsistent the Watch Tower policy of acceptance of all the individual components of blood plasma as long as they are not taken at the same time. He says the Society offers no biblical explanation for differentiating between prohibited treatments and those considered a "matter of conscience", explaining the distinction is based entirely on arbitrary decisions of the Governing Body, to which Witnesses must adhere strictly on the premise of them being Bible-based "truth". He has questioned why white blood cells (1 per cent of blood volume) and platelets (0.17 per cent) are forbidden, yet albumin (2.2 per cent of blood volume) is permitted. He has questioned why donating blood and storing blood for autologous transfusion is deemed wrong, but the Watch Tower Society permits the use of blood components that must be donated and stored before Witnesses use them. He has questioned why Witnesses, although viewing blood as sacred and symbolizing life, are prepared to let a person die by placing more importance on the symbol than the reality it symbolizes.


text: Kerry Louderback-Wood says that by labeling the currently acceptable blood fractions as "minute" in relation to whole blood, the Watch Tower Society causes followers to misunderstand the scope and extent of allowed fractions.


text: The Watch Tower Society's response is that the real issue is not of the fluid "per se", but of respect and obedience to God. They say their principle of abstaining from blood as a display of respect is demonstrated by the fact that members are allowed to eat meat that still contains some blood. As soon as blood is drained from an animal, the "respect" has been shown to God, and then a person can eat the meat even though it may contain a small amount of blood. Jehovah's Witnesses' view of meat and blood is different from that of kosher Jewish adherents, who go to great lengths to remove minor traces of blood.


title: Honda Clarity

text: The Honda Clarity is a nameplate used by Honda on alternative fuel vehicles. It was initially used only on hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles such as the 2008 Honda FCX Clarity, but in 2017 the nameplate was expanded to include the battery-electric Honda Clarity Electric and the plug-in hybrid electric Honda Clarity Plug-in Hybrid, in addition to the next generation Honda Clarity Fuel Cell. Clarity production ended in August 2021 with US leases for the fuel cell variant continuing through to 2022.


title: Honda Clarity

text: The Honda FCX Clarity is based on the 2006 Honda FCX Concept and only available as a hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle. The FCX Clarity had electric car qualities such as zero emissions while offering five minute refueling times and long range in a full function large sedan. It was the first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle available to retail customers.


title: Honda Clarity

text: Production began in June 2008 with leasing in the U.S. commenced in July 2008. It was introduced in Japan in November 2008. The FCX Clarity was available for lease in the U.S., Japan and Europe. In the U.S., it was only available to customers who live in Southern California where several hydrogen fuel stations are available. FCX Clarity were leased for a month in 2010, including collision coverage, maintenance, roadside assistance and hydrogen fuel. There were around 10 others on lease in Japan and another 10 in Europe in 2009. One of the reasons for such a low number of cars in the U.S. was a lack of hydrogen filling stations. In 2014 Honda announced to phase out the FCX Clarity. From 2008 to 2015, Honda leased a total of 48 FCX units in the US.


title: Honda Clarity

text: The FCX Clarity electrical power comes from a 100kW Honda Vertical Flow (V Flow) hydrogen fuel cell stack whereby electricity is supplied on demand. In common with many electric vehicles, the car has regenerative braking and uses a separate battery to store energy recovered during braking.


title: Honda Clarity

text: The electric motor is based on the motor used in the EV Plus, rated at and torque at 03056rpm. The range on a full hydrogen tank (4.1kg at 5000psi) is EPA certified at . The vehicle is estimated to get about per kilogram of hydrogen in the city, per kilogram highway and per kilogram in combined driving.


title: Honda Clarity

text: The FCX Clarity is about shorter than a 2008 Honda Accord. The display in the dashboard includes a dot that changes color and size as hydrogen consumption grows, to make it easier for the driver to monitor their driving efficiency. A separate display shows the battery power level and another shows motor output. A speedometer is placed above the cockpit display to make it easy for the driver to keep eyes on the road. In the interior, upholstery on the seats and door linings are made with Honda's plant-derived Bio-Fabric.


title: Honda Clarity

text: The FCX Clarity was produced in Japan at a dedicated fuel-cell-vehicle assembly line in the Honda Automobile New Model Center (Takanezawa-machi, Shioya-gun, Tochigi Prefecture). The fuel cell stack itself is produced at Honda Engineering Co., Ltd. (Haga-machi, Haga-gun, Tochigi Prefecture).


title: Honda Clarity

text: It is reported that Honda plans to offer hydrogen fuel cell vehicle at costs competitive with gasoline mid-size cars by 2020 although its 2005 hand-built predecessor to the Clarity cost about $1 million.


title: Honda Clarity

text: In July 2014 Honda announced the FCX Clarity would be discontinued and replaced by a new and higher-volume hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle to be introduced.


title: Honda Clarity

text: It is reported in 2009 that hydrogen made from natural gas cost about $5 to $10 per kilogram in California, and after compression cost and transportation cost, retails for $12 to $14 per kilogram. Although it was more than double the equivalent amount of gasoline during the summer of 2009, fuel-cell cars have double the efficiency of similar models with a gasoline engine. The FCX Clarity averaged per kilogram of hydrogen.


title: Honda Clarity

text: The FCX Clarity's features include an AM-FM car radio with CD player, integration for iPod and iPhone, a USB port, auxiliary input, a voice-activated GPS navigation system, XM satellite radio, cloth seating surfaces, Bluetooth, and digital instrumentation.


title: Honda Clarity

text: Since the car's unveil at the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show, it was reported in May 2008 there were 50,000 people inquiring about the car through its Web site.


title: Honda Clarity

text: In November 2014, Honda unveiled the Clarity Fuel Cell concept in Japan. In November 2015, Honda unveiled the Clarity Fuel Cell at the 2015 Los Angeles Auto Show and announced a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) variant. In April 2016, Honda announced that the Clarity Plug-In variant would be released in 2017 and also a Clarity Battery Electric (BEV) variant. Each drive-train variant is distinguished by a unique "hero color" and different front styling, headlights, and taillights. In June 2021, Honda announced that production of the Clarity would end in August 2021 with Honda's Sayama plant scheduled to close in March 2022.


title: Honda Clarity

text: Retail deliveries of the 2017 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell began in Southern California in December 2016. The Clarity was available in 12 approved Honda dealerships located in select California markets, including six dealerships in Southern California, five in the San Francisco Bay Area, and one in Sacramento. The Clarity Fuel Cell, with range of , had the highest EPA driving range rating of any zero-emissions vehicle in the U.S, including fuel cell and battery electric vehicles, until the Hyundai Nexo was released in early 2019. The 2017 Clarity also has the highest combined and city fuel economy ratings among all hydrogen fuel cell cars rated by the EPA, with a combined city/highway rating of 67 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent (MPGe), and 68 MPGe in city driving.


title: Honda Clarity

text: The following table shows fuel economy ratings from the United States Environmental Protection Agency test procedures for both the 2014 FCX Clarity and the 2017 Clarity Fuel Cell, expressed in miles per gallon gasoline equivalent (MPGe). One kg of hydrogen is roughly equivalent to one U.S. gallon of gasoline.


title: Honda Clarity

text: In April 2016, Honda announced that in addition to the new generation Clarity Fuel Cell there are two additional variants — the Clarity Electric and Clarity Plug-in Hybrid, which were both released in 2017. The all-electric Clarity EV with a 25.5kWh battery has of range, and is only available for a three-year lease (US$199/month with US$899 down) for residents of California or Oregon.


title: Honda Clarity

text: For the US market, the Clarity Electric is equipped with a CCS Type 1 combo port for DC charging, which also accepts J1772 plugs for AC charging. A full charge requires approximately 3.5 hours on a 240V AC charger, or 19 hours on a standard 120V US wall outlet.


title: Honda Clarity

text: The plug-in hybrid (PHEV) model was launched December 1, 2017 in the U.S. market with a starting MSRP of $34,290; it is eligible for the full $7,500 federal tax credit in the U.S. unlike some other PHEVs due to its larger battery size, along with other incentives for plug-ins in certain states. The Clarity PHEV has an EPA-rated all-electric range of , with a total combined gas/electric range of .


title: Honda Clarity

text: It is the only Clarity model available in all 50 U.S. states as well as Canada, where it was launched nationwide in the latter on December 14, 2017 starting at an MSRP of C$39,990, before available government incentives up to C$13,000.


title: Honda Clarity

text: For the North American market, the Clarity Plug-in Hybrid is equipped with a J1772 charge port for AC charging at up to 6.6kW. A full charge takes approximately 2.5 hours at the full 6.6kW speed (240V 27.5A), or 13 hours from a standard 120V US wall outlet.


title: Honda Clarity

text: The Clarity PHEV was the only variant available in the Forest Blue Pearl exterior color. Other distinctive exterior features found only on the plug-in variant include a chrome bar above the front grille, chrome rear deck lid garnish, and a unique wheel design.


title: Honda Clarity

text: The Clarity PHEV was subsequently released in Japan on July 20, 2018, with an MSRP of ¥5,880,600 including 8% consumption tax, with an advertised all-electric range of on the JC08 driving cycle or on the WLTP driving cycle. Compared to the North American model, the Japanese model includes an additional CHAdeMO DC fast charging connector, providing an 80% battery charge in 30 minutes.


title: Honda Clarity

text: For the 2020 model year, the Clarity received a new Acoustic Vehicle Alert System, which emits an audible noise when the car is driving at low speeds in pure electric mode.


title: Honda Clarity

text: In August 2019, Honda limited stock of the Clarity PHEV in the United States to only California dealerships, though it still be ordered nationally. The Clarity PHEV was discontinued in 2021, along with the Fuel Cell model.


title: Honda Clarity

text: On 25 July 2007 the United States Internal Revenue Service announced that the Honda FCX Clarity met the requirements of the Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit as a qualified fuel-cell motor vehicle. Purchasers of the 2005 and 2006 Honda FCX were eligible for a Section 30B(b) income tax credit, but consumers were not allowed to purchase the vehicle, as it was only available leased in Southern California, where public hydrogen refueling stations are available. The tax credit expired in 2014.


title: Honda Clarity

text: The leasing program began in July 2008 at a price of per month for three years which includes collision coverage, all maintenance and roadside assistance. Honda announced Power Honda Costa Mesa, Honda of Santa Monica and Scott Robinson Honda as the initial dealers, which were chosen for their proximity to hydrogen refueling stations.


title: Honda Clarity

text: The Clarity Fuel Cell is eligible for a federal tax credit of , as the tax credit for fuel-cell vehicles was given in December 2015 a short-term extension through the end of 2016. As a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV), the Clarity FCV is eligible for a purchase or lease rebate in California of through the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project. However, Honda only currently offers the Clarity FCV for lease, so the federal incentives are retained by Honda rather than the lessee; leasee is able to receive the CVRP rebate from California.


title: Honda Clarity

text: Owners of the Clarity Plug-In Hybrid are eligible for a maximum tax credit through U.S. federal tax credit programs.


title: Honda Clarity

text: The Honda FCX Clarity was the pace car in 2008 Indy Japan 300 which took place at the Twin Ring Motegi in Tochigi, Japan, April 2008. It also served as the official pace car for the 2011 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in March 2011.


title: Power Glove

text: The Power Glove is a controller accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The Power Glove gained public attention due to its early virtual reality mechanics and significant marketing. However, its two games did not sell well, as it was not packaged with a game, and it was criticized for its imprecise and difficult-to-use controls.


title: Power Glove

text: The Power Glove was originally released in 1989. Though it was an officially licensed product, Nintendo was not involved in the design or release of the accessory. Rather, it was designed by Samuel Cooper Davis for Abrams/Gentile Entertainment (AGE), made by Mattel in the United States and PAX in Japan. Additional development was accomplished through the efforts of Thomas G. Zimmerman and Jaron Lanier, a virtual reality pioneer responsible for codeveloping and commercializing the DataGlove, who had made a failed attempt at a similar design for Nintendo earlier.


title: Power Glove

text: Mattel brought in Image Design and Marketing's Hal Berger and Gary Yamron to develop the raw technology into a functional product. They designed Power Glove over the course of eight weeks. The Power Glove and DataGlove were based on Zimmerman's instrumented glove. Zimmerman built the first prototype that demonstrated finger flex measurement and hand position tracking using a pair of ultrasonic transmitters. His original prototype used optical flex sensors to measure finger bending which were replaced with less expensive carbon-based flex sensors by the AGE team.


title: Power Glove

text: The glove has traditional NES controller buttons on the forearm as well as a program button and buttons labeled 0–9. The user presses the program button and a numbered button to input commands, such as changing the firing rate of the A and B buttons. Along with the controller, the player can perform various hand motions to control a character on-screen.


title: Power Glove

text: The Power Glove is based on the patented technology of the VPL Dataglove, but with many modifications that allow it to be used with modestly performing consumer hardware and sold at an affordable price. Whereas the Dataglove can detect yaw, pitch and roll, uses fiberoptic sensors to detect finger flexure, and has a resolution of 256 positions (8 bits) per finger for four fingers (the little finger is not measured to save money, and it usually follows the movement of the ring finger), the Power Glove can only detect roll, and uses sensors coated with conductive ink yielding a resolution of four positions (2 bits) per finger for four fingers. This allows the Power Glove to store all the finger flexure information in a single byte. However, it appears that the fingers actually feed an analog signal to the microprocessor on the Power Glove. The microprocessor converts the analog signal into two bits per finger.


title: Power Glove

text: There are two ultrasonic speakers (transmitters) in the glove and three ultrasonic microphones (receivers) around the TV monitor. The ultrasonic speakers take turns transmitting a short burst (a few pulses) of 40 kHz sound and the system measures the time it takes for the sound to reach the microphones. A triangulation calculation is performed to determine the X, Y, Z location of each of the two speakers, which specifies the yaw and roll of the hand. The only dimension it cannot calculate is the pitch of the hand, since the hand can pitch without moving the location of the two ultrasonic speakers.


title: Power Glove

text: Two games were released with specific features for use with the Power Glove: "Super Glove Ball", a faux-3D puzzle maze game; and "Bad Street Brawler", a beat 'em up. Both games are playable with the standard NES controller, but include moves that can only be used with the glove. These two games are branded as part of the "Power Glove Gaming Series". Since no Power Glove-specific games ever retailed in Japan, the Power Glove was sold only as an alternative controller.


title: Power Glove

text: Two more games, "Glove Pilot" and "Manipulator Glove Adventure", were announced but never released. Another unreleased game, "Tech Town" or "Tektown", is a virtual puzzle solving game in which the player moved a robotic hand around a deserted space station type of setting, using the glove to open doors and to pick up and use tools. It can be seen in a sneak peek in the "Official Power Glove Game Players Gametape".


title: Power Glove

text: Games without specific support can also be played with the glove by inputting codes on the glove's keypad that set a control scheme for the glove.


title: Power Glove

text: The Power Glove sold nearly one million units. However, it generally received extremely poor reception, because the controls for the glove were incredibly obtuse, making it completely impractical for almost every game on the console.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: Geraint Howell Thomas, (; born 25 May 1986) is a Welsh professional racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam , Wales and Great Britain. He is one of the few riders in the modern era to achieve significant elite success as both a track and road rider, with notable victories in the velodrome, in one-day racing and in stage racing. On the track, he has won three World Championships (2007, 2008, and 2012), and two Olympic gold medals (2008 and 2012), while on the road he won the 2018 Tour de France becoming the first Welshman and British-born rider to win it.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: His early successes were in track cycling, in which he was a specialist in the team pursuit. He won three World Championships and was Olympic gold medallist twice, in 2008 and 2012. Thomas had an early win on the road at the 2004 Paris–Roubaix Juniors and later had a senior victory at the 2010 British National Road Race Championships. Leaving track cycling to focus solely on the road, he subsequently found success in both one-day/classic races such as the 2014 Commonwealth Games road race and the 2015 E3 Harelbeke, and in one week stage races, most notably at the 2016 Paris–Nice, the 2017 Tour of the Alps, the 2018 Critérium du Dauphiné, the 2020 Tour de Romandie and the 2022 Tour de Suisse.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: In cycling's grand tours, Thomas was initially a lead domestique to Chris Froome in his victories. He won the first stage of the 2017 Tour de France, an individual time trial, to become the first Welshman to wear the Tour's yellow jersey. He later crashed in that race, as well as in the 2017 Giro d'Italia. Thomas became the first Welsh person ever to win the Tour de France when he won the tournament in 2018. He gained the yellow jersey by winning stage 11, extended his lead by winning stage 12, and retained the lead for the remainder of the event. In the same year he won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, becoming the first Welshman to win the ward since Ryan Giggs in 2009. In 2019, he confirmed his Grand Tour pedigree when he reached the podium again, having finished runner-up in the Tour de France behind Team Ineos teammate Egan Bernal. In 2022, Thomas became the first ever Welshman to win the Tour de Suisse and later that year won another podium finish at the 2022 Tour de France, placing third.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: Notable for his all-round ability and adaptability rather than mastery of one specialism, Thomas has been competitive in individual time-trials, on the cobbles, in the Spring classics and in the mountains of Grand Tours, where he was the first rider in the history of the Tour de France to win at Alpe d'Huez while in yellow.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: Born in Cardiff, Wales, Thomas attended Whitchurch High School. He began cycling with the Maindy Flyers Cycling Club at Maindy Stadium at the age of 10, where he rode with future Team Sky teammate Luke Rowe, before going on to ride for other local clubs, Cycling Club Cardiff and Cardiff Just in Front. His first race bike was a blue Giant. Following some successes in under 14 and under 16 events, including National Championships, his first notable success came when he won silver medal in the points race at the 2004 UEC European Track Championships, at that time a junior and under-23 event.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: Thomas became a member of British Cycling's Olympic Academy. He won the Carwyn James Junior Award at the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year ceremony. Thomas competed at World Cup events around the world, and was training in Sydney, Australia, in February 2005 when he crashed after the rider in front of him hit a piece of metal in the road which was flicked up into Thomas's wheel. He suffered internal bleeding after the piece of metal entered his body during the fall, rupturing his spleen which subsequently had to be removed.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: He rode most of his races of 2006 for , but towards the end of 2006 joined as a stagiaire. He also rode a few races, such as the Tour of Britain, for the Great Britain squad.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: Thomas made his Tour de France debut at the 2007 race as the youngest rider in the race as picked up one of the three wildcard spots allocated for the race. He became the first Welsh rider to compete in the race since Colin Lewis in 1967. Thomas received great support from Welsh fans at the opening of the race, with several following the entire race. He completed his first Tour de France, finishing 140th of 141 finishers.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: He was nominated for the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year award in 2007. The winners were announced on 2 December, and Thomas came third in the public vote.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: Thomas did not compete in the Tour de France, instead, he rode the Giro d'Italia earlier in the season before returning to Britain to concentrate on preparations for the Summer Olympics in Beijing. On discovering that the flags of non-participating nations would not be allowed at the Games, Thomas said: "It would be great to do a lap of honour draped in the Welsh flag if I win a gold medal, and I'm very disappointed if this rule means that would not be possible."


title: Geraint Thomas

text: On 17 August, Thomas was a member of the Olympic team pursuit squad which broke the world record in the heats with a time of 3:55.202, beating their Russian opponents comfortably to go through to the final ride-off for silver and gold. The following day, on their way to winning the gold medal, the British Team pursuit broke their own world record in a time of 3:53.314, beating their Danish competitors by 6.7 seconds. Thomas had been a possible contender in the individual pursuit, but opted not to ride both events as he did not want to compromise the efforts of his team. He had also been considered to compete in the Madison with Bradley Wiggins but it was Mark Cavendish who was selected to do so; Chris Boardman stated that "Geraint keeps surpassing people's expectations".


title: Geraint Thomas

text: Following the disqualification of fellow teammate, Moisés Dueñas, from the Tour de France, Thomas expressed his strong anti-doping opinions on his blog on the BBC 6-0-6 website: "...if someone is fraudulent in a business, wouldn't they be facing a prison term? I don't see how riders taking drugs to win races and lying to their teams is any different. Bang them up and throw away the key!"


title: Geraint Thomas

text: In December, he was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: Thomas suffered a bad start to his 2009 season when he broke his pelvis and fractured his nose in a fall; he crashed into a safety barrier having misjudged a turn in the time trial stage of the Tirreno–Adriatico in Macerata, Italy. The crash came shortly after an time check showed he was second fastest on the road. Although he was able to return to his team hotel from hospital the same day, a period of 20 days complete rest was required before he would be able to resume training.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: On 30 October 2009, Thomas set the fastest pursuit time under current rules, at the time, when he completed in 4:15.105 at the first round of the 2009–10 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics at Manchester Velodrome. Thomas's time was only surpassed by Chris Boardman's 4:11.114, set in 1996 on a bicycle position that had since been banned. On 1 November, on the last day of the World Cup round, Thomas was a member of the team pursuit squad which set the second-fastest time ever on their way to the gold medal, setting a new track record of 3 minutes 54.395 seconds in the process.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: Thomas was runner-up to Ryan Giggs in the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year award in 2009; the winners were announced on 8 December. He left Barloworld at the end of 2009 to join new British team, .


title: Geraint Thomas

text: Thomas began 2010 as part of the team time trial winning team for Sky at the Tour of Qatar. After competing in the classics, he impressed at the Critérium du Dauphiné, finishing in the top ten in each of the opening four stages. As a result of these finishes, he was the leader in green jersey competition for stages two, four and six. He finished fifth in the green jersey competition overall, and twenty-first in the general classification.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: Thomas beat teammate Peter Kennaugh to win the 2010 British National Road Race Championships. His good form continued into the Tour de France, in which he finished fifth in the prologue, a second behind the highest-placed overall contender Lance Armstrong. He then finished second on stage three, a stage that was marred by numerous crashes and splits in the peloton, which Thomas managed to avoid. This led to him leading the young rider classification after stage three. He finished 67th overall in the Tour, and ninth in the young rider classification.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: Thomas had been due to travel to Delhi, India, in September to compete in the Commonwealth Games, but pulled out, as did several other cyclists, due to health concerns. Dengue fever was one specific concern cited. Illness was especially a risk for Thomas following the removal of his spleen in 2005. Following the decision, Thomas said "It's a massive disappointment, I only get to ride for Wales once every four years, but that's the decision I had to make."


title: Geraint Thomas

text: Thomas started 2011 with some promising performances in the classics, finishing sixth in the Classica Sarda and second in the Dwars door Vlaanderen before placing tenth in the Tour of Flanders Thomas claimed his first professional victory in May, by winning the five-day Bayern-Rundfahrt race, after finishing second on stage 3 and fifth on stage 4. On 26 June 2011, Thomas finished second to Bradley Wiggins in the British National Road Race Championships.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: At the Tour de France, Thomas finished sixth on the opening stage to take the white jersey. He retained the jersey the following day, as Sky finished third in the team time trial. Thomas lost the white jersey to Robert Gesink on stage 7, as team leader Bradley Wiggins crashed out of the Tour, and the remaining Sky riders lost time after waiting for him. Thomas won the combativity award on the stage 12, following an aggressive breakaway into the first Pyrenean stage, that saw him lose control twice on the descent of La Hourquette d'Ancizan. He finished 36th on the stage after being caught by the general classification leaders with to go on the final climb of the day, and rose to 25th overall. Thomas signed a new three-year contract with Sky after stage 16. He finished 31st overall in the Tour.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: Thomas had a successful Tour of Britain, winning the points classification, having been highly placed in the overall standings before a crash. He was part of the Great Britain team for the road race at the UCI Road World Championships, and helped lead out Mark Cavendish to victory.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: Thomas focused on track cycling for the 2012 season, competing at the Summer Olympics in London. As such, the Giro d'Italia was his road race priority, before turning his focus to the track. In March, Thomas did ride Paris–Nice, where he helped Bradley Wiggins take overall victory. On 4 April Thomas was a member of the British team pursuit team that won gold at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Melbourne, with a new world record of 3:53.295 seconds. He also teamed up with Ben Swift to take the silver medal in the madison. Thomas then returned to the road, winning the prologue of the Tour de Romandie.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: Thomas finished second behind Taylor Phinney in the opening time trial of the Giro d'Italia. Thomas acted as lead out man to Mark Cavendish in the race, helping him to three stage victories. Thomas also finished second to Marco Pinotti in the final stage time trial in Milan.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: Thomas was selected for the team pursuit team for the Olympics, along with Steven Burke, Ed Clancy and Peter Kennaugh. On 2 August the quartet set a new world record of 3:52.499 in the first heat of the event. The team set the fastest time in the first round, setting up a final with Australia to decide the gold medal winners. In the final, the British team set another world record of 3:51.659, finishing nearly three seconds ahead of the Australians, with Thomas retaining his gold medal in the event.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: Thomas began the 2013 season at the Tour Down Under. He won stage 2 after attacking on the Corkscrew climb, and outsprinting three riders that had joined him on the descent. Thomas held the race lead until the penultimate stage, where he cracked on Old Willunga Hill and dropped to fifth overall. However, he fought back on the final stage in Adelaide, taking enough bonus seconds to rise to third place overall, 25 seconds behind Dutch rider Tom-Jelte Slagter, and won the sprints classification.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: Thomas was given a leadership role in Sky's Classics campaign. His best results were a couple of fourth places in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and E3 Harelbeke, as he crashed out of contention in Milan–San Remo, the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix. After a break, Thomas returned to action at the Bayern-Rundfahrt, where he finished second overall. He showed excellent climbing form at the Critérium du Dauphiné, helping Chris Froome and Richie Porte secure a 1–2 overall finish, whilst also placing 15th overall himself.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: He was selected to ride the Tour de France, but crashed heavily on the opening stage. Thomas started the next stage but struggled, finishing second last and after returning to hospital was found to have a fractured pelvis. Despite his injury, Thomas continued, and managed to finish the Tour in 140th place, helping Froome take overall victory.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: Thomas once again started the season at the Tour Down Under, this time riding in support of Richie Porte, and finishing eighth overall. Thomas was again scheduled to support Porte at Paris–Nice, but an injury to Froome meant that Porte was switched to Tirreno–Adriatico, leaving Thomas to lead the squad in France. Thomas performed strongly, finishing second to 's Tom-Jelte Slagter on the fourth stage, to take the leader's yellow jersey, before dropping to second behind Carlos Betancur on the sixth stage. The next day however, Thomas hit a tree on a descent from the finish; although he would complete the stage some seven minutes in arrears, Thomas did not start the final stage. Thomas recovered to take his good form into the Classics season, finishing third in E3 Harelbeke. He led at the Tour of Flanders and managed an eighth-place finish, 37 seconds behind the winning rider, Fabian Cancellara, having had to chase back after being dropped on the Taaienberg climb. Thomas also secured a hard-fought seventh position in Paris–Roubaix, finishing as part of a group twenty seconds behind solo winner Niki Terpstra having been active in an earlier break with Tom Boonen.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: In May, Thomas won the overall classification at Bayern-Rundfahrt for the second time in his career, after winning the individual time trial on Stage 4.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: In the Tour de France, Thomas acted as a domestique to Sky teammate Richie Porte, following the withdrawal of his compatriot Chris Froome on stage five. Porte soon fell down the overall standings after suffering badly on stage thirteen to Chamrousse. Thomas was then given the freedom to go for stage wins and appeared in a number of breakaways. Thomas was the only Briton to finish the race, placing 22nd overall, his best ever result in the Tour de France.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: Thomas represented Wales at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. He won bronze in the individual time trial behind Alex Dowsett of England and Rohan Dennis of Australia. Thomas won gold in the road race after attacking Scott Thwaites and Jack Bauer on the final lap of the Glasgow city centre circuit, and built up a large enough gap to survive a scare when he had to change a wheel in the closing stages. Thomas rounded off his season with sixth overall at the Eneco Tour in August.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: In February 2015 Thomas won the second stage of the Volta ao Algarve after following an attack by Rein Taaramäe () on the final climb of the day, before going clear and holding off the chasers on the descent to the finish, 19 seconds ahead of the Estonian and 23 seconds ahead of the peloton to take the race lead. He defended the lead by placing third in the time trial on stage 3, and fourth on stage 4, which finished on the summit of the Alto do Malhão and was won by teammate Richie Porte. He finished safely on the final stage to claim overall victory.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: Thomas's next race was Paris–Nice. He took second place on the race's queen stage to the Col de la Croix de Chaubouret, again behind Porte. He lost time on the penultimate stage of the race, after crashing on a wet descent, but continued and finished fifth in the overall standings. The following week, he took part in the Milan–San Remo. He attacked on several occasions during the race, most significantly on the descent of the Cipressa. Although he led the race solo over the top of the Poggio, he was caught soon afterwards and finished just behind the front group. Five days later, Thomas became the first British rider to win the E3 Harelbeke, attacking from a 3-man breakaway with Zdeněk Štybar () and Peter Sagan () in the closing stages and holding on to triumph. Two days later Thomas finished third in Gent–Wevelgem behind Luca Paolini () and Niki Terpstra (), despite being blown off his bike and crashing due to a gust of wind in extreme weather conditions.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: In June, Thomas produced one of the best climbing performances of his career at the Tour de Suisse by finishing fifth on stage 5, which finished with a climb to the Rettenbach glacier to an altitude of with the last featured an average gradient of 10.7%. Thomas placed fifth in the concluding time trial on stage 9, missing out on overall victory by a gap of five seconds to Simon Špilak ().


title: Geraint Thomas

text: At the Tour de France Thomas played a support role for Chris Froome, helping him navigate a first week featuring crosswinds, hill top finishes, cobblestones and a team time trial. On the first mountain stage in the Pyrenees, Thomas helped set up Froome's winning attack by reducing the peloton on the final climb, the Col de la Pierre St Martin and placed sixth on the stage alongside Alejandro Valverde of the . This result meant Thomas rose to fifth overall on the general classification. He dropped down to sixth after finishing just over half a minute behind Alberto Contador on stage 14 from Rodez to Mende. On stage 16, Warren Barguil () lost control approaching a hairpin bend the descent of the Col de Manse and collided with Thomas, causing him to crash head first into a telegraph pole and fall into a ditch. However Thomas escaped serious injury, and was able to complete the stage and lost just 38 seconds to the leading group. He subsequently moved up to fourth overall after stage 17 to Pra-Loup, when Tejay van Garderen pulled out of the race due to illness and Contador lost time due to a crash. However he struggled on stage 19's climb up La Toussuire, finishing 22 minutes behind stage winner Vincenzo Nibali and sliding down to 15th place in the general classification, 27 minutes and 24 seconds off Froome.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: In February 2016, Thomas retained his Volta ao Algarve title, after placing fifth on the decisive fifth stage behind Alberto Contador.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: In March 2016, Thomas led Team Sky at Paris–Nice. On stage 6, Thomas finished second to Ilnur Zakarin () on a mountain top finish at Madone d'Utelle to take the race lead by 15 seconds over Contador. Thomas was able to defend his lead on the final stage, with assistance from teammate Sergio Henao, after Contador repeatedly attacked and distanced Thomas on the final climb of the Col d'Èze. Thomas crossed the finish line in Nice 11 seconds after Contador to win the race by 4 seconds.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: In May 2016, it was reported that Thomas had signed a two-year contract extension keeping him at Sky until the end of 2018 season. However the following month he clarified that the contract was for one year with the option of a further year.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: In July 2016 Thomas was part of the Team Sky squad at the Tour de France that aided Chris Froome in securing his third Tour de France overall win. Thomas finished 15th overall for the second year in succession.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: Thomas was selected to ride the Olympic Road Race. He crashed on the final descent, around from the finish of the race, when he was near the front of the race in and with a chance of contesting the finale. Thomas re-mounted, and managed to finish in 11th place two and a half minutes adrift of gold medallist Greg Van Avermaet (Belgium). Thomas also received a late entry for the Olympic time trial and finished 9th.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: In January 2017, Team Sky announced that Thomas would share leadership with Mikel Landa at the Giro d'Italia.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: In March 2017, Thomas led Sky at Tirreno–Adriatico. However, their opening team time trial was marred by a crash suffered by Gianni Moscon, when his front wheel disintegrated at high speed. Moscon fell to the tarmac, suffering abrasions, but was able to remount. After the stage, Thomas stated to the media that two other team members suffered broken wheels during the stage; ultimately finished 1 minute, 41 seconds down on the time of the . On stage 2, with remaining, Thomas and 's Bob Jungels attacked on the 16% steep climb towards Pomarance, pulling Tim Wellens (), and duo Tejay van Garderen and Damiano Caruso – in the leader's blue jersey – away with them. With Thomas pulling clear of Jungels, Nairo Quintana () countered to the group of pursuers; Thomas was able to stay clear until the end, winning the stage by nine seconds from Tom Dumoulin of . Thomas finished second on stage 4 to Monte Terminillo, 18 seconds behind Nairo Quintana of (). He finished fifth overall, 58 seconds behind Quintana.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: In April 2017, Thomas became the first British rider to win the Tour of the Alps (formerly known as the Giro del Trentino). Thomas won the third stage of the race, taking the leader's fuchsia jersey as a result, and ultimately won by seven seconds ahead of Thibaut Pinot (). Thomas began the Giro d'Italia strongly, finishing third on stage 4 to Mount Etna to sit second overall for the rest of the first week. However, on stage 9, as the peloton approached the final climb of the day to Blockhaus, Wilco Kelderman of collided with a police motorcycle which had been parked at the side of the road. This caused him to swerve to his right into the Sky riders, who were in a line in the peloton, and resulted in Thomas and the majority of his teammates being brought down. Thomas reported his shoulder "popped out" during the crash, but he remounted to complete the stage, dropping to 17th in the standings, five minutes and 14 seconds behind Nairo Quintana. After a rest day, Thomas recovered to finish second to Tom Dumoulin on stage 10, a individual time trial, to move back up to 11th overall. However, after losing further time on the next two stages, Thomas withdrew from the race with a worsening knee injury.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: At the Tour de France, Thomas won the opening stage, a individual time trial, making him the first Welsh rider to wear the yellow jersey in the event. He held the yellow jersey until Stage 5, when he dropped to second overall behind teammate Chris Froome after finishing tenth on La Planche des Belles Filles. Thomas crashed out of the race on a descent on Stage 9 whilst placed second overall and suffered a broken collarbone.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: Thomas began his 2018 season in February at the Volta ao Algarve, where he won the individual time trial on Stage 3 to increase his overall race lead. However, he missed out on overall victory on the final stage when a 31-man breakaway went clear in the opening kilometres including his teammate, the second placed rider Michal Kwiatkowski. Kwiatkowski held on to win the stage on the Malhão to take overall victory by 1 minute 31 seconds over Thomas. In March, Thomas again suffered misfortune whilst leading Tirreno–Adriatico when on Stage 4 he suffered a mechanical issue from the summit of the final climb to Sarnano–Sassotetto that saw him lose 34 seconds and the overall leader's blue jersey. He eventually finished third overall, again behind teammate Kwiatkowski and Damiano Caruso of . In April, Thomas returned to Paris–Roubaix, but abandoned after crashing in the opening cobbled sector of the race.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: In June, Thomas led Team Sky at the 2018 Critérium du Dauphiné in the absence of Chris Froome, who had won the Giro d'Italia a week earlier. Thomas crashed during the opening prologue and finished over 20 seconds down on Kwiatkowski, who won the stage. Team Sky won the team time trial on Stage 3 with Thomas rising to fourth overall. Thomas took the race lead after finishing second on Stage 5 to Valmorel and increased his lead over Adam Yates to 1 minute 29 seconds on the following stage. Despite having to chase back twice after suffering two punctures on the final stage, Thomas held on to take overall victory ahead of Yates and Romain Bardet ().


title: Geraint Thomas

text: In July, Thomas entered the Tour de France as a domestique riding in support of 's leader Froome, who was going for a record-equalling fifth Tour de France victory, even as Thomas was one of the top contenders who could compete for the overall victory. A crash for Froome on stage 1 saw him lose time to Thomas and finished second behind in the second stage team time trial. After avoiding the crashes and mechanical problems suffered by many of the other overall contenders in the first week, Thomas sat second overall when the race entered the Alps on Stage 10, just 43 seconds behind the leader Greg Van Avermaet, whilst Froome was in eighth place. and speculation over team leadership began, though Thomas himself diplomatically fielded any questions regarding leadership: ""I think it’s early to be talking about that"," Thomas said about any disputes over leadership between him and Froome. "”Maybe if I’m still right there after Alpe d’Huez [on stage 12], it’s a bit different then. But we haven’t even done a proper climb yet. I’m certainly not getting carried away"."


title: Geraint Thomas

text: On Stage 11, with a steep finishing climb to La Rosière, Thomas attacked from the group of favourites, including Froome, from the finish and caught up with Tom Dumoulin (), who had attacked on the stage's penultimate climb. Thomas attacked again in the final kilometre to distance Dumoulin, and he passed lone breakaway rider Mikel Nieve () in sight of the finish line to take the stage win and the race leader's yellow jersey. The following day, Thomas won Stage 12 in a sprint finish at Alpe d'Huez ahead of Dumoulin and Froome, who arose as the likely contenders for overall victory in Paris. By doing so he became the first rider to win a Tour de France stage at Alpe d'Huez in the yellow jersey and the first British winner at Alpe d'Huez in the Tour de France.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: On Stage 17, the first of the three Pyrenean stages, a stage to the summit of the Col de Portet, Thomas extended his lead by placing third behind stage winner Nairo Quintana of . Froome's challenge faded on the approach to the summit and he dropped to third position in the general classification, 2:31 behind Thomas. Dumoulin moved into second place, 1:59 off the lead. On the mountainous stage nineteen from Lourdes to Laruns, Primož Roglič of attacked on the final climb, the Col d'Aubisque, and soloed to the finish nineteen seconds ahead of the chasing group of overall favourites. Thomas was able to consolidate his position in the yellow jersey by picking up six bonus seconds in the sprint thereby extending his lead over Dumoulin to 2 minutes, 5 seconds. The penultimate stage was a time trial, Dumoulin won the stage, one second ahead of Froome. Thomas survived a scare when his back wheel locked, but completed the time trial successfully, finishing fourteen seconds behind Dumoulin, taking a lead of 1 minute, 51 seconds into the final stage. He held the lead all the way to Paris to become only the third ever British, first British-born and first Welsh cyclist to win the Tour de France.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: On 9 August, Thomas attended a homecoming event organised in Cardiff in his honour, appearing in front of 3,000 people outside the Senedd in Cardiff Bay where he was greeted by First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones before riding alongside a group of young riders to Cardiff Castle, where a crowd of 8,000 heard him speak. In September 2018 the Wales National Velodrome in Newport was officially renamed the Geraint Thomas National Velodrome: Thomas attended the renaming ceremony after the first stage of the 2018 Tour of Britain finished in the city.


title: Geraint Thomas

text: In December, Thomas was named BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year for the second time, before he went on to win the main BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to cycling.