Put Down the SPF 30

Thanks to waste in our waters and harmful CO2 emissions that cause global warming, coral reefs are dying at alarming rates. Now add another harmful component, a new report from the journal Nature says sunscreen might be to blame too. The report cites an Italian study confirming that, "the chemicals that filter ultraviolet (UV) light can activate latent viral infections in the symbiotic microalgae that the corals rely on for nutrition." Or, in other words, the same chemicals in sunscreen lotion that keep us from burning cause disease and death in the algae that feed the coral. Though the report goes on to claim that only 10 percent of the ocean's reefs are visited by tourists, The World Conservation Union's coral reef analysis included news that in 2005 alone "severe bleaching affected between 50 percent and 95 percent of coral colonies and killed more than half" in parts of the Caribbean. Coincidentally, 2008 is being called the International Year of the Reef. We're not saying don't wear sunscreen, but wear a long sleeve shirt and don't go overboard.
--Jason Kerkmans