Hawaii to ban harmful sunscreens to protect coral reefs

[MisterVeritis]

Hawaii has become the first US state to pass a bill banning the sale of any sunscreens that have chemicals known to harm coral reefs.
The bill bars the sale of sunscreens containing chemicals oxybenzone and octinoxate, which some scientists say contribute to coral bleaching.
The chemicals are used in over 3,500 of the most popular sunscreen products.
The bill, which would take effect in 2021, now awaits the signature of Democratic Governor David Ige.
Democratic Senator Mike Gabbard introduced the bill, which proposes to end the sale of any non-prescription sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate, statewide.
Mr Gabbard told the Honolulu Star Advertiser that if the governor signs the bill, it would become "a first-in-the-world law".
"Hawaii is definitely on the cutting edge by banning these dangerous chemicals in sunscreens," Mr Gabbard said.
"This will make a huge difference in protecting our coral reefs, marine life, and human health."
The bill states that the chemicals kill developing coral, increase coral bleaching and cause "genetic damage to coral and other marine organisms".


What do scientists say?

Craig Downs, one of the co-authors of the main study showing the adverse effects of oxybenzone and octinoxate on reefs, told the Washington Post in 2015 that "any small effort to reduce oxybenzone pollution could mean that a coral reef survives a long, hot summer, or that a degraded area recovers".
The scholarly journal Nature noted that other reef scientists were unsure that banning sunscreens would have a big impact.
"Banning sunscreen will not solve other problems: for example, temperature anomalies, overfishing, coral predators and the big issue of coastal runoffs that pollute and destroy reefs," Jorg Wiedenmann, head of the Coral Reef Laboratory at the University of Southampton in the UK told Nature.
"But if you have places with a high load of tourists going in, it is not unreasonable to stay cautious and say, 'Yes, there may be additive effects.'"
Hawaii's waters see more than eight million tourists each year, and the visitor numbers have been increasing.
Mr Downs' study, published in the Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology journal, found that an estimated 12,000 metric tonnes of sunscreen end up washing into coral reefs.

---

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs, a public agency advocating for Native Hawaiians, has supported the bill, along with a number of environmental nonprofits.
Only four Republican representatives opposed the bill in the House, but several local associations and companies have also spoken out against it.
The Star Advertiser reported that Bayer, the company that manufactures Coppertone sunscreen, said there are no similar ingredients available in the US with the same effectiveness as oxybenzone.
The Hawaii Medical Association told the newspaper that it disagreed with the bill due to a lack of peer-reviewed evidence suggesting that sunscreen caused coral bleaching, while plenty of evidence shows that sunscreen protects from skin cancer.

The ocean is enormous. I see an estimate of 12,000 metric tons of sunscreen end up on reefs. What does that work out to in real life? One part in a few tens of billions of tons of seawater? How many people will die due to skin cancer for this unlikely potential benefit?

[Chloe]

The ocean is enormous. I see an estimate of 12,000 metric tons of sunscreen end up on reefs. What does that work out to in real life? One part in a few tens of billions of tons of seawater? How many people will die due to skin cancer for this unlikely potential benefit?

Yes the ocean is enormous but that's really not the point nor does it matter. Coral reefs are only in about 1% of the world's oceans but where they lack in global scale compared to physical water itself they are the ocean equivalent of the Amazon rainforest with regards to ocean life and biodiversity. It's the areas of the Earth where these coral reefs exist that are being damaged by man-made chemicals, such as some of the chemicals found in common sunscreens, which is the focus here.

It doesn't matter how big the ocean is when, for example, a coral reef off a popular tourist beach in Hawaii is being damaged by the millions of tourists that go to that one location and have their sunscreens wash off every minute of the day which then can stick to coral. The amount of water in the ocean has nothing to do with the damage being done. As to your argument about skin cancer there are plenty of high quality sunscreens that make a point to not include those two harmful chemicals and are readily accessible.

[MisterVeritis]

Yes the ocean is enormous but that's really not the point nor does it matter. Coral reefs are only in about 1% of the world's oceans but where they lack in global scale compared to physical water itself they are the ocean equivalent of the Amazon rainforest with regards to ocean life and biodiversity. It's the areas of the Earth where these coral reefs exist that are being damaged by chemicals, such as some of the chemicals found in common sunscreens. It doesn't matter how big the ocean is when a coral reef in a cove in Hawaii is being damaged by the millions of tourists that go to that one location. The amount of water in the ocean has nothing to do with the damage being done. As to your argument about skin cancer there are plenty of high quality sunscreens that make a point to not include those two harmful chemicals and are readily accessible.

Right. I am aware that coral reefs are worth protecting. Twelve thousand tons mixed into a trillion tons of seawater gives one perspective.

Nor does it appear that you are right about alternative sun screens.

[countryboy]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43993407

BBC

Hawaii has become the first US state to pass a bill banning the sale of any sunscreens that have chemicals known to harm coral reefs.
The bill bars the sale of sunscreens containing chemicals oxybenzone and octinoxate, which some scientists say contribute to coral bleaching.
The chemicals are used in over 3,500 of the most popular sunscreen products.
The bill, which would take effect in 2021, now awaits the signature of Democratic Governor David Ige.
Democratic Senator Mike Gabbard introduced the bill, which proposes to end the sale of any non-prescription sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate, statewide.
Mr Gabbard told the Honolulu Star Advertiser that if the governor signs the bill, it would become "a first-in-the-world law".
"Hawaii is definitely on the cutting edge by banning these dangerous chemicals in sunscreens," Mr Gabbard said.
"This will make a huge difference in protecting our coral reefs, marine life, and human health."
The bill states that the chemicals kill developing coral, increase coral bleaching and cause "genetic damage to coral and other marine organisms".


What do scientists say?

Craig Downs, one of the co-authors of the main study showing the adverse effects of oxybenzone and octinoxate on reefs, told the Washington Post in 2015 that "any small effort to reduce oxybenzone pollution could mean that a coral reef survives a long, hot summer, or that a degraded area recovers".
The scholarly journal Nature noted that other reef scientists were unsure that banning sunscreens would have a big impact.
"Banning sunscreen will not solve other problems: for example, temperature anomalies, overfishing, coral predators and the big issue of coastal runoffs that pollute and destroy reefs," Jorg Wiedenmann, head of the Coral Reef Laboratory at the University of Southampton in the UK told Nature.
"But if you have places with a high load of tourists going in, it is not unreasonable to stay cautious and say, 'Yes, there may be additive effects.'"
Hawaii's waters see more than eight million tourists each year, and the visitor numbers have been increasing.
Mr Downs' study, published in the Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology journal, found that an estimated 12,000 metric tonnes of sunscreen end up washing into coral reefs.

---

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs, a public agency advocating for Native Hawaiians, has supported the bill, along with a number of environmental nonprofits.
Only four Republican representatives opposed the bill in the House, but several local associations and companies have also spoken out against it.
The Star Advertiser reported that Bayer, the company that manufactures Coppertone sunscreen, said there are no similar ingredients available in the US with the same effectiveness as oxybenzone.
The Hawaii Medical Association told the newspaper that it disagreed with the bill due to a lack of peer-reviewed evidence suggesting that sunscreen caused coral bleaching, while plenty of evidence shows that sunscreen protects from skin cancer.

Yes, because of course coral life is far more important than human life.

[countryboy]

Look, Chloe started a thread. Quick, someone alert the nursing home gang. They'll want to see this.

Yes of course it's not you killing the Forum, it's everyone else's fault. Libertarian my ass.

[MisterVeritis]

Yes, because of course coral life is far more important than human life.

Well, it might be. The story gives the figure of twelve thousand tons of sunscreen (by the way the active ingredients are only 12% of the total) reaching the coral reefs. But that is mixed with seawater. Lots and lots of seawater.

So do we endanger a few million people to potentially save one coral reef?

[MisterVeritis]

Yes of course it's not you killing the Forum, it's everyone else's fault. Libertarian my ass.

Ethereal can be an ass. I assume he is in his early thirties. He could outgrow it.

[countryboy]

Well, it might be. The story gives the figure of twelve thousand tons of sunscreen (by the way the active ingredients are only 12% of the total) reaching the coral reefs. But that is mixed with seawater. Lots and lots of seawater.

So do we endanger a few million people to potentially save one coral reef?

I lost my son to melanoma skin cancer. These idiot social justice Warriors can take a long walk off of a short pier. Dopes.

[MisterVeritis]

I lost my son to melanoma skin cancer. These idiot social justice Warriors can take a long walk off of a short pier. Dopes.

Your example, as horrible as it is, gives weight to the real issues. Will we insist that real people die in order to possibly save a coral reef? The Democrats say "Yes".

[countryboy]

Your example, as horrible as it is, gives weight to the real issues. Will we insist that real people die in order to possibly save a coral reef? The Democrats say "Yes".

Of course they do, and yet they still blame all of these mass shootings on so-called gun nuts. Gee, it couldn't be the complete disregard for human life they are teaching the kids these days, could it? No of course not.