Why are the Coral Reefs Important?
You might have heard someone worriedly proclaim: The coral reefs are dying! We have to do something! It is meant to be a wake-up call, but only a small percentage of people understand the extent of what it means. To be frank, I’ve heard this called out countless times in my classrooms, and before I embarked on a journey towards sustainability, I didn’t understand why it was such a big deal either.
First of all, let’s start with the basics. What are coral reefs? Corals are the invertebrate animals that live in shallow water. Reefs are made from these hard corals when they shed their exoskeleton, building structures around them. Corals live in colonies (where hundreds and millions of there other brothers and sisters live) secreting structures that are as large as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
Ok, so now we know what they are. Now how do they benefit the ecosystem?
Turns out, there’s a long list.
- Coral reefs support more species per unit area than any other marine environment! 4000 species seek refuge and live in these reefs, while other species live in and around them (NOAA). https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/corals/coral07_importance.htm
- Drugs and medicines are created out of these corals that are said to be possible cures for a list of diseases such as cancer, infections, and arthritis, among many others (NOAA).
- Coral reefs can provide up to goods and services worth $375 billion each year (NOAA).
- Coral reefs buffer adjacent shorelines from wave action and prevent erosion, property damage and loss of life (NOAA).
- Reefs protect the highly productive wetlands along the coast, as well as ports and harbours and the economies they support (NOAA).
- Coral reefs become the main attraction for tourists going on fishing trips and diving excursions. Businesses benefit greatly and earn millions of dollars by being close to these reefs. Have you ever seen an underwater world documentary on Nat Geo or Youtube? People love watching these.
Sadly though, now these same documentaries and Youtube videos that depicted the magnificent world underneath are now showing their quick demise. If you’ve ever seen the vid “50 minutes to save the world” on Youtube, you know what I’m talking about. I’ll link it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wthTmQHmuZ0
In 50 minutes to save the world, Amir Zakaria, the director of the short documentary outlines simple steps one can take to not add unnecessary plastics and pollute our waters. He mentions that the best and easiest way is to switch to a sunscreen that doesn't have:
- Oxybenzone, which is a common UV chemical. This causes an adverse effect in the smallest quantities, like at 62 ppm. Also, 1 drop of this chemical in a 6 1/2 Olympic sized swimming pools is enough for it to contaminate it.
- Octinoxate is another such chemical that pollutes and destroys the coral reefs as an estimated 14,000 tons of sunscreen enter waters
Both of these ingredients are the most potent killers of our reefs, so it critical that we only purchase sunscreens whose ingredients are deemed “reef safe” before use!
While looking for suitable options at Target the other day, I came upon one sunscreen from the brand “Sun Bum” which I think does the trick :)
