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This is Scientific American’s 60-Second Science, I’m Cynthia Graber. This will just take a minute.

 The history of science is inextricably linked to the Galapagos and its influence on Darwin. In 2001, an oil tanker¹ hit a reef in the Galapagos Islands and spilled potentially disastrous² amounts of oil on one of the world’s most historic natural reserves. Today the Galapagos are starting down a path to do away with imported oil. Ecuador which owns the islands recently installed three wind turbines in cooperation with the UN and major energy companies. Wind power will replace half of the diesel³ previously⁴ needed. But there are challenges. First the electrical grid⁵ must be updated to accomodate the intermittent⁶ power supplied by wind. And there are also ecological⁷ issues. One of the original proposed sites contained nests of birds known as petrels. But after they moved to the site researchers realized they knew little about the flight patterns of the petrels. So they initiated⁸ a study. Once it was determined⁹ that the birds would fly safely out of the way of giant turbine blades, construction began. The addition of solar power could make the Galapagos nearly energy independent by 2015 and free from many further oil spills.

 Thanks for the minute for Scientific American’s 60-Second Science. I’m Cynthia Graber.