This week the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Industry approved the development of a floating wind farm to provide power to two oil platforms in the North Sea.¹ Yes, ironically, wind energy will begin helping to produce more oil.

Paleontologists in Australia have recently discovered a treasure trove of amber with trapped insects, spiders, and fungi.¹ These new fossils are revealing some animal behavioral secrets and are creating some baffling mysteries.

Recently, a team of geochemists from Belgium reported that days might have been 30 minutes shorter in the Late Cretaceous compared to today, giving 372 days in a year.¹ They published their results in Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, basing their conclusions on growth patterns in an extinct bivalve called a rudist clam.

Another major oil discovery in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico has been recently announced.¹ Equinor, a Norwegian-based oil company, and partners Progress Resources USA Ltd. and Repsol E&P USA Inc. made the proclamation last week.

March went out with a jolt in central Idaho. March 31 saw a magnitude 6.5 earthquake strike about 45 miles west of the town of Challis at about 6:52 pm local time.¹ The recent quake was about 100 miles northeast of the city of Boise and about 325 miles north of the recent 5.7 magnitude near Salt Lake City, Utah.