I Speak for the Sea

We all are part of this beautiful and amazing living organism — our mother earth. It’s so important that we walk softly upon her.

I swim a lot. One of the great pleasures of living on this beautiful island is enjoying the water. When I’m in the water, I’m aware of people using some very noxious sunscreens. I think of all the creatures in the water, including coral, turtles, shellfish and fish. Two ingredients that are found commonly in sunscreen — oxybenzone and octinoxate — are known to harm and kill coral. In addition to being toxic to several coral species, oxybenzone is an endocrine disruptor among marine animals.

Sunscreen pollution is especially problematic in popular snorkeling locations. Spray-on sunscreens are the worst. They disperse sunscreen everywhere, including on the sand where it can wash into the ocean.

In May 2018, the Hawaii House and Senate passed a bill that banned the sale of certain sunscreens in order to preserve marine ecosystems. The law does not go into effect until January 1, 2021.

The best sunscreens have zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. They are very easy to find. All the health food stores and the dive shops have them. It’s best not to use any sunscreen products with nanoparticles or other reef harming ingredients, such as avobenzone, octocrylene and homosalate. Check out this website for the top 10 sunscreens: www.ewg.org/sunscreen.

Remember that all our body care products eventually make their way down to the sea. Becoming more conscious of how our choices affect our environment, and contributing what we can to save our beautiful planet, are great ways to walk on the earth with kindness, humility and gratitude.

Maurgana Stiastny, LAc, MAcOM, LMT, has been an acupuncturist and natural healthcare practitioner for 23 years. Find her at the Quan Yin Healing Center located on the north shore of Maui, or call her at 808.579.8810.