• Ocean

First U.S. Offshore Wind Farm In Federal Waters Completed, Ready to Spin

• COVID-19
• Dominion Power
• offshore wind
• renewable energy
• Virginia

On Monday, the state of Virginia and Dominion Energy announced the completion of the second offshore wind facility in the U.S. and the first one in federal waters.  Its two turbines sit 27 miles off the coast and when operational later this summer, will produce enough electricity to power 3000 homes.

Why This Matters:  If the waters off Virginia are suitable for wind farms, with their close proximity to ports, naval facilities, and tourism, then it is hard to imagine why wind power can’t be developed in many other areas along the U.S. coast.

• Ocean

One Working Remotely Thing: The Wonders of The Coral Sea Discovered

• #30x30
• conservation
• Coral Sea
• deep sea
• exploration
• Schmidt Ocean Institute
• science

Recently, a deep-sea expedition to the Coral Sea northwest of Australia conducted by the Schmidt Ocean Institute, founded by Eric Schmidt, the former chairman of Google, and his wife, Wendy returned with stunning images to share.  Bill Broad of The New York Times wrote an in-depth story that featured the images and described some of the most important findings.

Why This Matters:  Aside from the many discoveries, such as 10 new species of fish, snails and sponges, the entire expedition was conducted remotely because of the coronavirus pandemic — which apparently is a global first, but is unlikely the last time that will happen.

• Ocean

Achieving Fully Protected Marine Reserves Is Increasingly Urgent

• 30 by 30
• MPA
• ocean conservation

by Jenna Sullivan-Stack, Postdoctoral Scholar, Oregon State University Department of Integrative Biology When preparing for the birth of my son this February, I decided to make him a mobile of some of the things that are most important to me (I am not crafty, so this was a real labor of love). What I ended […]