This week, governors from 17 states have signed a pledge to accelerate their efforts to create a green economy. The governors are from California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. Andrew Cuomo, governor of New York, said that the coalition of states can effectively ” develop an effective national energy policy to ensure a safer, greener, and more sustainable future for all”. Last year, wind and solar energy accounted for 5.4% of the nation’s energy.  Read more…

3. Ocean Oases: How Islands Support More Sea-Life 

This week, an article was published in Nature Communications that proved a 60 year old theory to explain why seas surrounded by islands and atolls are more productive. The Island Mass Effect is a hypothesis that explains why waters surrounding small islands, reefs, and atolls support a greater abundance of sea-life than is found in the near-by open ocean. The marine biologist from Bangor University’s School of Ocean Science and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration measured the phytoplankton populations in the waters surrounding 35 small islands. They recorded 86% more phytoplankton in those waters than open ocean. The increase in microscopic organisms has an effect right up the food chain to the top predators.  Read more…

A female shark who has had no contact with males of its species for more than two years is currently pregnant! The white-spotted bamboo shark currently has produced two fertile eggs by the process called parthenogenesis. Parthenogenesis is when females manage to add an extra set of chromosomes to their eggs to produce offspring that are either clones or half-clones of themselves.  Read more…