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I’m Christopher Cruise. Today, we tell about a new way to measure the health of the world’s oceans. We also tell about efforts to develop medicines from underwater organisms. And we tell about a newly identified species found in the Caribbean Sea. A new system has been developed to measure the health of the world’s oceans. Scientists say the system will change the way we think about oceans and how they affect our lives. It is called the Ocean Health Index. The index is designed to tell if anything is wrong with the oceans and, if so, what can be done about it. Greg Stone is chief ocean scientist for the environmental group Conservation International. He is also vice-chairman of the Global Agenda Council on Oceans at the World Economic Forum. “The Ocean Health Index is the first global, totally scientific and transparent measure of ocean health that we’ve ever had. It’s meant to guide policymakers and the public to the underlying importance that the oceans are the life support system of the Earth and that we’d better take care of them if we are to survive on this planet.” Greg Stone spoke to VOA from the Cook Islands in the South Pacific. Representatives from sixteen island nations met there earlier this year to talk about caring for the ocean. Mr. Stone says oceans are the Earth’s most important resource. “You can’t manage anything that you can’t measure. So, like any good portfolio investments, if you want to make sure you are prospering and you’re taking care of your investments -- and believe me, the health of our planet is no greater investment that there could be -- you need a metric in order to measure it and see that we have a sustainable relationship with this resource on an ongoing basis.” | 
