Coral reefs house nearly one fourth of the ocean’s biodiversity, help produce many of the fishes that humans eat and protect thousands of miles of coastline from storm surge. But if we do not take account of our wrong doings we are going to witness the sixth mass extinction i.e. the coral reefs. Scientists have been warning that oxybenzone, an ultraviolet-absorbing compound found in practically every major brand of sunscreen, might be one of the reasons of dying coral reefs.

According to a study published in Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, oxybenzone does kill corals. It disrupts their growth, increases the rate of coral bleaching, damages DNA, and can even cause the larval form of coral (called planula) to become trapped in their own skeleton. The study goes on to explain that even an extremely small amount of sunscreen, equivalent to a single drop in six Olympic sized swimming pools is enough to start the disruption of coral growth. Now imagine, how much damage would 14,000 tons of sunscreen cause which is discharged into coral reefs every year?

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A report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration concluded thatwe’re in the midst of a massive coral bleaching event, a phenomenon which occurs when high temperatures disrupt the symbiotic relationship between coral and its photosynthetic food source, a green alga called zooxanthellae. The report elaborates that this year’s coral bleaching could impact a full 38% of coral reefs worldwide. If current trends continue reefs could disappear entirely within the next several decades.

The co-author of the study Craig Downs informed one and all: “We have lost at least 80 percent of the coral reefs in the Caribbean. Any small effort to reduce oxybenzone pollution could mean that a coral reef survives a long, hot summer, or that a degraded area recovers.” And this isn’t something very difficult. You just have to check the ingredients list on the bottle of your sunscreen and check for oxybenzone. If it is there on the label, just chuck it in the dustbin. Because this is exactly what it is turning the ocean into right now – Dustbin! Climate change is one of the most serious problems that the mankind has faced in centuries and until unless we don’t take note of this serious situation and do something about it, we should keep ourselves ready for the total annihilation of our planet.

Author:Technology Blog