Sun Block is hurting the Coral Reef ... It's time to know - the situation is bad. Organic industrial compounds are killing everything. Many sunscreens are not coral safe even when they say they are biodegradable! It's time to use your consumer power and switch to non-oily, zinc oxide based compounds. Mineral powders are very effective and adhere to the skin for a time immersed in water. It is essential we move. fast. now. We need more reef safe sun block product options available in the USA.
A field of dead staghorn coral can be seen beyond the single healthy piece in the forefront of this photo. Dynamite fishing and the sunblock worn by tourists to the marine park cause severe damage to this reef off of Kota Kinabalu, Borneo. Photo credits: Maurice F. Copyright
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Check out Zuu's new fav sunscreen. It's from UV Naturals in Australia. UV Natural's sunblocks are available from Kate's Caring Gifts in Australia or PureBodySolutions.com in the United States.
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From Zuubar's News Journal:
Excuse me but your sunblock is blocking my sun and I need that to eat.
The Whole Story on Coral Safe Sun Protection
Use of sunblock is damaging to the coral reef and ocean lovers all over the world have no idea how the healthful necessity to apply sunblock is a thing causing great harm to global coral reef ecosystems - perhaps 60% of them. Conservationist, environmentalists, all of us have been using a substance incredibly damaging to the coral reef and no one knew -- there's been no public information available. The four harmful chemicals include three sun blockers
- octinoxate
- oxybenzone
- 4-methylbenzylidene camphor
and the preservative
- butylparaben.
Several things happen when these compounds wash off skin immersed in ocean waters. The three sun blocking compounds absorb the UV rays contained in sunlight. When the oily film settles in on the surface of the reef where people have been playing all day, the symbiotic zooxanthellae algae that live inside of the corals cannot obtain the full spectrum of light required for photosynthesis. Far worse, these chemical compounds (some even organic) stimulate a latent virus within the zooxanthellae that replicates to the point of bursting the cells, dispersing the virus into the water column. The threat is incredible and mostly unknown. We know it is important to protect our skin, the largest organ in the body, from harmful UV rays that damage our DNA and cause cancer. The creepy thing about octinoxate, oxybenzone, and 4-methylbenzylidene camphor is that they absorb the UV rays. These compounds are absorbing UV rays directly into the surface of the skin and the DNA is not immune. What we need a sunblock to do is reflect UV rays away from our bodies. In fact, only two compounds are even classified as reflective, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide -- which only reflects 30% of the UV rays, absorbing the remainder directly into the surface layer of the skin. Zinc oxide's 100% reflective properties make it the only logical choice.
The only sunblock 100% non-damaging to the reef are mineral powders containing zinc. The creams and lotions contain oily compounds that create a film that sticks to the reef.
It is incomprehensibly amazing such a situation even exists. 99% of the sunblocks available for purchase are incredibly damaging to the environment while busily mutating the purchaser's DNA. The painful part for so many is how a love of the beach, the ocean, swimming, boating, snorkeling, kayaking, scuba diving, etc. is what caused a damage perhaps more extensive than acidification or warming temperatures.
One dead, one alive. Off KK, Borneo. Photo Credits: Maurice F. Copyright
Once the zooxanthellae algae living within die off from viral infection, the coral no longer has anything to eat and they die too.
The algae provide up to 80% of the nutrients consumed by coral polyps (the remaining 20% of corals' diet is captured from the water column). This demise of corals' symbiotic partner in life (and death) -- the zooxanthellae algae -- is one circumstance that produces what is known as a "bleaching event". All that means is that the algae have died and the coral polyps followed suit -- so all that is left is the calciate exostructure -- which is white.
zerobar.org will be launching a series of campaigns to educate the public about the dangers of sunscreen. Watch this space for cartoons coming soon!
Design,voices, story by: Stephen Brophy and Jeremy Photos by Maurice F.