Introduction

Our world’s oceans are in grave danger. The marine ecosystem is constantly being endangered by human actions. The pH of the ocean is lowering, the beaches are filled to the brim with garbage, and certain species are dying out. You may not know this, but the coral reefs are in danger as well. In a process called “bleaching”, sunscreen washes off human’s bodies and coats the coral. This causes the algae to explode, and release viruses into the water thus affecting other coral organisms in the vicinity. “Bleaching” occurs quickly, ranging from a few hours to a few days, until the coral is destroyed forever.

Most notably, The Great Barrier Reef is suffering from this problem. The reef is slowly dying off as the sunscreen “bleaches” the coral and kills it. The four harmful chemicals that cause “bleaching” are paraben, cinnamate, benzophenone, and camphor; they are found in conventional sunscreens we use to protect our skin. One way to combat this issue is to use biodegradable sunscreens that do not contain these chemicals. This sunscreen will both block the harmful UV sun rays from damaging your skin while also not harming the coral reefs when it washes off your body.

Using biodegradable sunscreen is a simple solution to a very widespread and complex problem. You can make a difference; educate your community about this problem and how we can easily help mitigate the damage. There is still time to correct our mistakes, to fix all the damage we have caused the environment. We want our future generations to see The Great Barrier Reef in its splendid beauty and magnificence, not as a dead “bleached” reef. By doing something as easy as buying biodegradable sunscreen without the four harmful chemicals stated above, we can start to take the first steps to healing and protecting the ocean’s coral reefs.

Jacquot, J. (2008, January 24). Sunscreens Promote Coral Bleaching by Stimulating Viruses. Treehugger. Retrieved from http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/sunscreens-promote-coral-bleaching-by-stimulating-viruses.html.