Why is Hawaii banning oxybenzone and octinoxate from sunscreens?
The two ingredients help protect skin from UV rays, but researchers have found that they also cause bleaching, deformities, DNA damage and ultimately death in coral when sunscreen washes off beachgoers or is discharged into wastewater treatment plants and deposited into bodies of water.
Beachgoers Beware? 5 Pathogens That Lurk In Sand
Although most microbes in the sand are harmless, some are linked with disease. Here are five types of pathogens found in sand.
13 of the dirtiest beaches in the world
Wide scale pollution has turned some of the world’s most beautiful beaches into trash heaps.
3 SoCal Beaches Among the Most Polluted in the State
Three Southern California beaches are among the 10 most polluted in the state.
Beach Report Card 2017-18: Banner Year for Water Quality
Heal the Bay today, released their 28th annual Beach Report Card, which assigns yearly A-to-F water-quality grades for more than 400 beaches along the California shoreline, based on levels of harmful bacteria.
Could sunscreen be destroying our coral reefs? Hawaii lawmakers say yes
Hawaii is set to become the first state to ban the sale of sunscreens containing oxybenzone or octinoxate, two chemicals believed to be harmful to the environment.
Philippines closes ‘cesspool’ tourist island of Boracay
The Philippines has announced a six-month closure of the popular tourist destination of Boracay over concerns the island’s famous beaches and clear blue waters have been transformed into a “cesspool” due to sustained environmental damage.
South-east Asia closes island beaches to recover from climate change and tourism
More popular South-east Asian islands will be off limits to visitors this year as officials seek to protect eco-systems crumbling from warming seas and unchecked sprawl, despite the risk to tourism revenues and tens of thousands of jobs.
Dead zone in Gulf of Mexico will take decades to recover from farm pollution
The enormous “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico will take decades to recover even if the flow of farming chemicals that is causing the damage is completely halted.