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Sunscreen kills coral reefs

Today I learned that sunscreen might kills coral reefs due to chemicals contained in it. A study by Samantha L. Schneider and Henry W. Lim talks about how chemicals that are part various sunscreens1 might contribute to coral reef bleaching. Making tourists that travel into those regions unaware of it, a contributing factor to the destruction of those important ecosystems.

I came across this while listening to a YouTube video talking about better way to prevent tourists from behaving badly. With first pointer I decided to have one more look into it, to write this article and quickly came across this CNet article talking about it as well. It’s quick research, so no guarantees here, but feel free to fact check me and teach me about your findings.

  1. Note: There are so called mineral sunscreens which shouldn’t have this problem.