Choose to Be BP-2 Free

To the avid beachgoers of Cape May County, I too am a lover of sun and ocean and even creator in the sand. I am a friendly face on the stands of the North Wildwood beaches, a workout partner on the boards, and a patron on my off days: all made possible by sunscreen. 
Seriously, without sunscreen, my days on the beach would be limited for sure. Sunscreen, composed of zinc oxide, or titanium oxide, oxybenzone, avobenzone, octisalate, octocrylene, homosalate, and octinoxate, have all kinds of minerals and chemicals mixed in to protect our precious skin from the harmful UV rays. That being said, as we attempt to protect our skin, we are actually harming our oceans; more specifically we are killing our coral reefs. How is that possible from all the way in the Mid-Atlantic region? Our oceans are connected waterways.
The bleaching of the coral reefs is a direct result of human’s pollution, sunscreen, and even tourism by touching the coral reefs. This leaves a beautiful ecosystem highly vulnerable because the species are not largely flexible to adaptation. This is a pressing issue, and as an ocean lover, I will be making conscious decisions about my product usage before entering the ocean. The Great Barrier Reef, more notably, has suffered the greatest coral die-off on record, “the largest mass bleaching event ever seen.” Through ocean dumping, sunscreen, and toxic dumping our coral reefs have taken a hard hit from human activity. The National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science has done studies and even very low amounts of benzophenone-2 (BP-2) can kill young corals! Additionally, it causes bleaching of the coral reefs and inhibits their growth.
I am not asking everyone to stop using sunscreen. That would be ridiculous! However, there is an alternative solution. There have been some legislative movements working to ban BP-2 from being an ingredient in sunscreen. Making this a world notion would be a tremendous help to our coral reefs. But starting here, in Cape May County, we can choose to use the sunscreens that are mineral based, or even just taking the extra minute to read the ingredients and use a sunscreen without BP-2 in it can help save our reefs, one sunscreen application at a time. So, to the sun and ocean lovers, creators in the sand, lifeguards, runners, and patrons alike, this is simple; this is in the sandy hands of us. Until legislation takes action, this summer choose to be BP-2 free!
ED. NOTE: Loughlin is a student at Penn State University currently enrolled in a geography class that focuses on sustainability. For extra credit, she was asked to write about something she is passionate about and submit it to her local paper. Loughlin is also a North Wildwood lifeguard.