EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson

 The Hill, a beltway website, carried a piece Dec. 17, reporting on a memo issued by the White House science advisor, John Holdren, ordering all federal agencies, in no uncertain terms, to use science as the basis for decisions.

The White House memo in turn links to a directive from Holdren aimed at agency heads that spells out in some detail the principles under which they are expected to act. This is all a followup to another memo, issued by President Obama last spring, urging that scientific integrity be at the top of everyone's agenda.

This all may seem like wonkish arcanity, but it seems clear that the White House is steeling itself for the expected onslaught of attacks on--among many other things--the administration's attempts to address climate change, specifically the Environmental Protection Agency's upcoming regulations to reduce the impact of vehicles on the climate.

Great white shark, ready for a meal. Photo: Fedorenko Gennady.

It turns out you really can get a free lunch—at least, if you're a great white shark.

A group (or, a shiver, if you prefer a more alliterative group name) of sharks found themselves presented with just such an unexpected buffet earlier this month, when a 36-foot Brydes whale (Balaenoptera edeni) was found drifting off the coast of South Africa.

Likely the tragic result of a ship strike—a major cause of injury and death to large whales, including the endangered North Atlantic right whale we're working to protect—the massive 10-ton remains was on a steady course for the shoreline, presenting a serious problem for local authorities. The recently departed whale would attract hungry sharks, which would in turn increase the likelihood of awkward shark/human encounters.

In a brilliant solution, the South African navy made the best of the whale's unfortunate death, towing it out to a remote area where the sharks could dine undisturbed—and under the close eye of scientists. Alison Kock, project leader at the Save Our Seas Shark Centre, characterized the nine-day marathon feast as "an unparalleled opportunity to document white shark behaviour." (Click on the image to advance to the next photo. Viewer discretion advised, if you're presently in the midst of your own meal.)

Baby loggerhead greets the world. Photo: National Park Service.

Last week, Monday Reads took a look at the seafaring Hawaiian petrel, avian travelers who spend nearly their entire lives over the open ocean. Today, we turn to another wanderer (albeit one who dwells under the waters, rather than above) who also shares an Earthjustice connection: the loggerhead sea turtle.

Born on sandy beaches at a mere fraction of their adult weight, loggerheads who survive into the decades of their adult years can grow to a stately 350 pounds, swimming the ocean currents of the world. Once plentiful, the loggerheads today are in decline, facing serious threats from human activity, such as miles of maiming hooks courtesy of bottom longline fisheries.

As hatchlings, loggerheads break free of their eggshells with no one to guide them to the waters of their future but instincts and the moonlit starry night. Big city lights have been known to beckon to the young—human and turtle, alike—luring the naïve hatchlings with false hopes and promises. (Several hundred loggerhead babes were quite nearly waylaid in just this manner, attempting to parade across a bustling street in Scarborough, Australia earlier this month.)

A second generation wholphin. Photo: Mark Interrante.

Monday Reads was on hiatus yesterday in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth day.

Animal hybrids are generally not unheard of in the natural world, but they are almost always guaranteed to come with awesome names. Ligers? Zorses? Beefalo? The Toast of Botswana? (Okay, that last one is cheating a bit.)

Interspecific hybrids have also brought us the wholphin, who may sound like a Dr. Seuss-ian fantasy but is just another wonderfully named hybrid. See diagram below: