Drop The Oxybenzone, Or Stop Swimming In Hawaiian Waters
Chad Blair
Civil Beat- 9/3/2016
I often struggle with "the cycle" and how in trying to prevent something for myself, I am actually causing harm to something else. I guess that there will always be taking to my giving; in giving myself the opportunity to protect my skin, I am in fact taking time away from the ocean. Everyday I am reminded of all the things that are "bad for me" or that can "cause me harm" or my personal favorite, that I'll "pay later for," and yet I am not reminded of all the things that I'm doing that is causing harm to the environment. Why is that?
To think that something as basic as sunscreen, something that since infancy I have been using as a method of protection is something that I now have to think twice about. It is not major of course, just buy sunscreen that is coral safe- that is all I need to do! We are currently in a stage in our existence where we question and review everything and oh how beautiful it is, exhausting yes, but oh so beautiful when considering what we are trying to protect- our planet.
Oxybenzone, while not the sole cause for the increase in coral bleaching, plays a role and what Chad Blair's article does beautifully is remind us that it's the little things that can cause great shifts in our future. The same way that we take preventative measures on ourselves (for example running, or thinking about running) in order to promote stronger health outcomes later on, the same that we should work to promote the well-being of our oceans and their future.
Link to Article: Link
To think that something as basic as sunscreen, something that since infancy I have been using as a method of protection is something that I now have to think twice about. It is not major of course, just buy sunscreen that is coral safe- that is all I need to do! We are currently in a stage in our existence where we question and review everything and oh how beautiful it is, exhausting yes, but oh so beautiful when considering what we are trying to protect- our planet.
Oxybenzone, while not the sole cause for the increase in coral bleaching, plays a role and what Chad Blair's article does beautifully is remind us that it's the little things that can cause great shifts in our future. The same way that we take preventative measures on ourselves (for example running, or thinking about running) in order to promote stronger health outcomes later on, the same that we should work to promote the well-being of our oceans and their future.
Link to Article: Link
Miguel,
ReplyDeleteI never bothered to look up what chemicals were in sunscreen. I also didn't know that oxybenzone was destroying our coral reefs. Toxic chemicals that can greatly effect humans but they can also effect the creatures that we can't see. The living beings of the sea are being greatly harmed by our toxic society based on consumption and chemicals. The ocean did not buy into our toxic lifestyles so we must remember that we have an obligation to protect it from our actions if we are to preserve it for ourselves and future generations.