{"id":20320,"date":"2018-09-13T09:42:53","date_gmt":"2018-09-13T07:42:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/?p=20320"},"modified":"2020-05-22T14:44:16","modified_gmt":"2020-05-22T12:44:16","slug":"barrier-reef-sunscreens-destroying-corals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/2018\/09\/barrier-reef-sunscreens-destroying-corals\/","title":{"rendered":"Barrier reef: sunscreens are destroying the corals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sunscreen on the beach? A recent study has proved that they are the cause of the destruction of the barrier reef and the Hawaiian and Caribbean government are going to ban it.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

The first thing to do at the beach<\/strong>? To rub the sunscreen<\/strong>. Before diving into the water to get fresh the dermatologists recommend to put the sunscreen to protect out skin from the UV rays of the sun. But unfortunately, by protecting our skin from sunburn, if we use a sun protection made with chemical filters we will espose the corals and barrier reef to a terrible danger. Here\u2019s why.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During the last period we talked a lot about the problem that is working the barrier reefs of the Hawaii and of the island of the Caribbean: the phenomenon of the bleaching<\/strong>, that caused the death of a huge number of corals that were populating this undersea wonders and that is now catching the attention.\u00a0<\/span>But what is the reason?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

First of all let us understand the characteristics of a barrier reef<\/strong>. It is a natural formation composed by rocks and corals, present in our tropical seas and oceans, that hosts several aquatic species and has a unique role in our ecosystem. They are not only a natural wonder to admire for who had the chance to admire it and swim with colorful fishes. But they represent a real and patrimony that is fundamental for the biodiversity of the oceans<\/strong>, the fish<\/strong> and are a natural defense<\/strong> for the costs because the protect from storm and violent inondations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the last years, this incredible ecosystems are more and more exposed to a danger and they are slowly disappearing from our oceans.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Disappearance of the coral reef. Which are the reasons?\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
\"sunscreen\"
Photo by Salvador Martin Yeste on Unsplash<\/div><\/div>\n

At the first place we have the climate change<\/strong> that with the heating of the water<\/strong> and acidification of the seas<\/strong> and oceans dissolve the skeleton of calcium carbonate of the corals. But on a local scale other agents can damage the coral reefs. We have already explained in the article 10 rules to be green even at the beach<\/a> but now we would like to make a deeper analysis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By rubbing the sunscreen to protect us from the sunbeams and sunburns, as recommended by the dermatologists and later swimming in the cristal clear water near the coral reef, we are exposing the ecosystem to a terrible danger.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why?<\/strong> Some chemical substances of the sunscreen lotions<\/strong> used to protect us from the sunbeams, as for example the oxybenzone<\/strong>, are damaging the DNA of the corals by stopping their normal growth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The chemical filters can facilitate the growth of virus, causing pathological conditions and the bleaching phenomenon<\/strong>. This phenomenon happens because the coral loose their microscopic seaweed with whom they live in a symbiotic status for the nutrition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t