Save Eco Destinations

That is me right after I jumped off the boat. That’s right: I took a noodle.

instant payday loans online

I did something amazing this weekend: I went snorkeling off Pompano Beach in South Florida. It was my first time and, if I had to think of one word to describe my experience, it was awesome. It was extremely great. I saw the remains of a shipwreck. I saw a shark (and followed it for a bit and tried not be scared). I saw gorgeous fish. I saw different colors and textures of coral. The water temperature was perfect. I got to work on my tan. I exercised in clear blue waters. And I even got a discount because I used a Travelzoo voucher.

Let me tell you more about it.

The company my friend Jen and I used is called Dixie Divers. Their store where you get the necessary equipment for snorkeling (or scuba diving!) and the vessel are in Deerfield Beach, FL, about an hour north of Miami. Here’s a video they made of what’s it’s like to go snorkeling with them (ignore the cheesy music):

Your morning would begin like this: arrive at the store by 8am (they will tell you to get there at 7:30am, but I’m a rebel) to obtain your gear and then drive 5 min. to the water, park, and get on the boat. Once it departs at 8:30am, you’ll get to relax and gaze at this:

About 30 min. later (I’m not sure how long it took because I was enthralled by the view and the breeze), you will find yourself ¼ of a mile off Pompano Beach, where you’ll get to check out the SS Copenhagen shipwreck. I’ll admit that I was not impressed. What I did enjoy was swimming amid a school of silver fish and detecting some kind of a stingray crawling at the bottom along remnants of the ship. You can swim, explore, float lazily, and tan on the boat for 45 min. to an hour.

After that, you will be summoned back on board and taken for a ride to the Nursery reef, which got its name because its residents include nurse sharks (they are used to divers and, according to one of the Dixie Diver tour guides, do not have teeth. I’m not sure I believe him.). This was my favorite snorkeling site! Plenty of fish! A couple of sharks! Underwater caves! Colors galore! A lovely coral reef! See for yourself:

Anisotremus virginicus, a.k.a. porkfish.

Amblyglyphidodon indicus, a.k.a. pale damselfish

All this while basking in the rays of South Florida’s glistening sun, your hair gently caressed by the wind, and listening to Sublime, Bob Marley (of course!), and other bands known for their laid-back and uplifting tunes (all this appears to be the delightful trend when boarding a catamaran and sailing off for a sunset cruise or snorkeling trip here).

This trip comes with sodas, water, animal crackers, and pretzels for you to snack on. I brought my own water and asked to have one of the oranges in the cooler because a) my body does not respond well to gluten and b) if I’m going to gorge myself on sugar, it will come in the form of cake or a frozen dessert, not a toxic soda that will, to boot, make me gassy (TMI? Nobody asked you to read this!). So I abstained. You can bring your own snacks and drinks, including beer and wine, and I encourage you to do both if you’re into that.

[Unfortunately,] I am not getting paid to write this review.

You’re welcome.

Want to go snorkeling?

Other South Florida companies that can take you out on diving, scuba or snorkeling trips or for a sunset cruise include:

• Miami Aqua Tours (leaves from downtown Miami)
• Play Time Water Sports (leaves from Brickell/downtown Miami) – this company is very disorganized and their website sucks. However, I went on their sunset cruise and it was gorgeous. Plus, the tour guides were charming and the trip included unlimited wine, beer, and snacks. Make your reservation a few weeks in advance and you’ll be golden. I might write a review of my trip.
• Miami Water Life Sports (leaves from Key Biscayne in Miami)

Check Travelzoo, Groupon, Living Social, Dealfind, Amazon deals, and others to find discounts for these and other excursions. There are some pretty excellent deals going on. Sign up for Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and other cities if you’re planning to visit!

Do your part to protect coral reefs

There are a few ways you can help protect coral reefs:

• Do not rip off pieces of coral to take home. That is selfish and harmful. Even worse, it can upset ecosystem balance. (Obviously.) Don’t do it.
• Do not litter. Don’t be that jerk. Turtles and other marine animals already eat plastic bags because they confuse them for food, such as jellyfish, and birds and fish everywhere are found dead with pieces of plastic in their digestive systems. Throw your junk in the trash or keep it on you until you return to land and recycle or toss it in a trash can there.
• Wear reef-safe sunscreen. What is reef-safe sunscreen? Sunscreen that doesn’t bleach coral reefs and contribute to their destruction. If you forget yours, Dixie Divers sells some at its store. To be sure you can wear it, however, especially if you choose another company, buy it yourself. It’s available at stores like Whole Foods and of course online via Amazon, Vitacost (my favorite), and other websites. I recently bought Kiss My Face SPF 30 sunblock spray through Vitacost and used it on my snorkeling trip. Highly recommended! Just remember to reapply after each dive.
• Do not feed wildlife.

That said, enjoy the adventure!

Choroni Beach, near Maracay, Venezuela

If you’re new around here, you might not know how strongly I feel about sunscreen – which kinds are bad and which are good, both for the planet and for you. Most people think sunscreen is the best way to avoid skin cancer. I partly agree. I also know that many ingredients in the most popular sunblocks are themselves carcinogenic (cancer-causing) and that vitamin D, which we can only get through sunblock-free sun exposure, actually prevents cancer and other health problems. Read on to learn more.

Here’s a brief post at the green tips website Green is Sexy that summarizes several of the things I’ve talked about in the past: green your sunscreen. It mentions a few harmful ingredients to watch out for and why.

Chemicals to avoid

Like the GIS post says, you should steer clear of the following ingredients in all your sunscreens (lip balms, sprays, and so on): octinoxate, oxybenzone, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor, and butylparaben (a preservative).  Another one to avoid entirely, this one not mentioned in GIS, is retinyl palmitate, which may speed up cancer growth. Click on the links to read all about these treacherous chemicals.

In truth, all parabens have a bad reputation, so look out for those in the ingredients of your shampoos, conditioners, body lotions, deodorants, toothpaste, makeup, personal lubricants (!), etc. You’ll be surprised at how ubiquitous parabens are once you start looking for them! It’s scary, really. But that’s why educating yourself is the best thing you can do to protect yourself and the people you care about, as well as marine ecosystems (these toxic ingredients bleach corals!). Speaking of which, all the chemicals than end in –zone, such as the aforementioned oxybenzone, are supposedly unsafe – I recommend that you avoid them.

The Environmental Working Group

Educate yourself

The cosmetic database of the Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a wonderful resource where you can look up chemicals and learn what they are, what they do, whether they are harmful, and if so, why and to what extent. The website is a gem. You can look up sunscreens by SPF and other products and it will tell you which specifically are the safest and which are the most dangerous and why.

I would also like to note that it’s perfectly healthy to spend a moderate amount of time each day in the sun without wearing any sunscreen. This is the most efficient way for the body to absorb the much-needed vitamin D (it’s actually a hormone). Interestingly, patients of many types of cancer, including that of the breast, have been found to have exceptionally low levels of vitamin D, and vitamin D has been shown to prevent multiple types of cancer as well as heart disease and other conditions. Some experts argue that it is a lack of vitamin D as well as the carcinogenic ingredients in sunblock that are causing cancer – not the sun!

Some articles by Dr. Mercola on the subject (I love Dr. Mercola, and although he does sell some products, which presents a conflict of interest, he doesn’t sell sunshine!):

• The Sunscreen Myth: How Sunscreen Products Actually Promote Cancer
• Four Out of Five Sunscreens May Be Hazardous to Your Health
• Does Too Much Sun Really Cause Melanoma?
• Trash Your Sunscreen and Other Summer Sun Tips (This one lists many harmful sunscreen ingredients.)

Posts right here on Save Eco Destinations:

• Doing your part: natural skincare for eco travel
• What sunscreen is doing to us and our planet

Natural German sunscreen

Alternatives

Several friends have asked me what brands are safe to use, since most are loaded with the dreaded –zones and parabens.

I’ve tried Hawaiian Tropic Biodegradable sunblock SPF 50 in spray form and Kiss My Face sunspray lotion in SPF 30. They’re both good and I especially like the Hawaiian Tropic, which is very easy to apply and doesn’t need to be rubbed in. However, Kiss My Face is a much more trustworthy brand, as they don’t test their products on animals and they offer fragrance-free options. I bought the Hawaiian Tropic when I was abroad and it was the most eco-friendly sunscreen I could find.

Dr. Mercola, whom I mentioned above, sells some sunscreens that should be pretty swell. Instead of containing harmful chemicals, they use green tea and zinc oxide to protect the skin while avoiding artificial fragrances and toxic ingredients of all sorts, according to the website. The products are also hypoallergenic and water-resistant. Here’s a long article that explains all about his products.

On EWG’s cosmetics database you will find lots of safe sunscreens bunched by SPF. For example, here are the ones with SFP 30+. You’re sure to find some awesome ones there. I’d love to hear recommendations!

Stay safe, everyone.

It’s summer and once again Hands Across the Sand is coming to your beach or city so you can gather with likeminded, environmentally oriented folk and peacefully show your opposition against offshore oil drilling and your support of clean energy solutions for a sustainable Earth. This Saturday will be the second annual Hands Across the Sand event held across the globe.

It goes like this: on June 25^th at 11am, wherever you are, go to the beach for 1 hour (rain or shine). Stand and hold hands with others while forming lines in the sand against oil drilling in your coastal waters. Remember to wear eco-friendly sunblock :)

According to the website, the movement is not about politics; instead, it is a push toward protecting coastal economies, oceans, marine wildlife, and fisheries from the menace of expanded offshore drilling and the accidents that can come with it, such as last year’s massively catastrophic BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, whose calamitous effects are expected to be felt for decades to come.

More you can do:

• Florida residents can sign a petition to ban oil drilling (you have to download, print, sign, and mail it to officials in Tallahassee, FL).
• Donate $5 or more by clicking on the “donate” buttons on the website.
• Follow the movement on Facebook and Twitter.
• Spread the word.

See photos from last year’s event.

The history of Hands Across the Sand

Florida surfer and restaurateur Dave Rauschkolb founded the even in October 2009 after a bill was passed in the Florida House of Representatives to end the ban on nearshore drilling. Rauschkolb got the support of sponsor organizations and rallied over 10,000 Floridians to join hands on February 13, 2010 along the state’s coastlines, to show the extent of Floridians’ opposition to nearshore drilling.

Hands Across The Sand enjoys the support of national (U.S.) and international environmental groups such as the Sierra Club, Surfrider Foundation, Oceana, Environment America, Greenpeace, Defenders of Wildlife, Alaska Wilderness League, Ocean Conservancy, Friends of the Earth, 350, Center for Biological Diversity, Audubon, and CleanEnergy.org.

Blackwater River State Park, Escambia/Santa Rosa, FL

The Florida Forever Coalition is at it again this year with its annual Take a Hike, Florida! event meant to celebrate and protect public wildlife and outdoor recreation activities throughout the state. This year, the hikes will take place on Saturday, March 26^th in the morning (time may vary per county).

In an effort to support and raise awareness about the state’s Florida Forever conservation land-buying program, the Coalition will partner with local supporters this weekend to take part in a day of friendly hiking under the sun.

The event was designed to celebrate Florida’s natural resources and raise awareness of its public land spaces which everyone can enjoy on a regular basis. The hikes will take place across the state and will be open to the public. To find events in your county – choose from Brevard, Duval, Escambia/Santa Rosa, Hillsborough, Lake, Leon, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Orange, Pasco, Seminole, Wakulla, and Washington – check out this link: Take a Hike, Florida!

Sand Pond at Trout Pond Recreation Area, Apalachicola National Forest, Wakulla County, FL

With highs set to hit the mid-80sF in South Florida this Saturday, spending the day outside among lush trees, singing birds, and a sweet breeze sounds like heaven to me! Plus, this year, the Coalition has made it a lot easier to collaborate in the fun compared to the form-filling they required last time, when celebrating 20 years of public land acquisition.

Remember to wear comfortable and breathable (cotton!) clothing and footwear (I love and recommend these shoes if you enjoy walking barefoot), biodegradable sunscreen that’s good for you and harmless toward the environment, and bring water in a reusable non-plastic container! Oh, and a photo camera, of course, to snap plenty of embarrassing shots of friends and strangers you can then use to blackmail … I mean, to show those who missed out what a grand ol’ time you had. Clearly.

Dolphins in the Pacific Ocean

The United Nations (UN) is celebrating World Ocean Day on Tuesday, June 8^th with the theme ‘Our oceans: opportunities and challenges.’

The celebration was instituted just last year and since then has been commemorated annually by conservation groups, schools, businesses and governments everywhere.

Check out this year’s events here and find more info on World Ocean Day at The Ocean Project.

Reasons to celebrate World Ocean Day

Given the recent and very-much-ongoing BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, it’s an especially wonderful time to raise awareness about the oceans’ plights and learn how we can “make a difference” (or a phrase that doesn’t make you gag).

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moo said the ocean’s main three challenges right now are overfishing, climate change and pollution.

World Ocean Day allows us to:

• Change perspective: encourage others to consider what the ocean represents to them and our planet, which hopefully will get more people interested in respecting and working to preserve it for generations to come.
• Learn: read about and watch documentaries on marine life and the richness of life in our oceans, visit the beach, etc., – whatever you feel will allow you to bond with our planet’s natural bodies of water.
• Make adjustments: educate yourself about endangered marine species (e.g., bluefin and other types of tuna, swordfish, skates and rays, marlin, Atlantic cod and orange roughy) so you can cross that seafood off your shopping list – and remember to tell others why you’re switching! (Check out Greenpeace’s Seafood Red List here.) You can also read up on which supermarkets shun unsustainable seafood (so you can shop there), biodegradable pesticides and fertilizers for your backyard, wear biodegradable sunscreen, etc.
• Celebrate: take part in the day’s festivities! For instance, write a letter to BP about the catastrophe it’s caused in the Gulf of Mexico and take part in demonstrations and sign petitions against oil drilling.

Atlantic cod is an endangered species

The UN resolution

The UN resolution calls on user States and States bordering straits utilized for international navigation to keep working together to resolve issues regarding navigation safety, e.g., aids to navigation safety and the prevention, reduction and control of pollution generated by ships and other vessels.

Countries are being urged to consider becoming members of the International Hydrographic Organization, and to cooperate with that organization to boost the coverage of hydrographic information across the planet.

These orders are meant to strengthen technical assistance and promote navigation safety, particularly in areas of international navigation, ports and vulnerable or protected marine zones.

“The oceans play a fundamental role in our daily lives. They are an integral part of sustainable development and an important frontier for research. As scientists explore the oceans to increasing depths, they continue to discover new forms of marine life,” said Ki-moo.

“These investigations have great potential with regards to the improvement of human welfare. But if we are to benefit fully from what the oceans have to offer, we must address the harmful effects of human activities. The diversity of life in the oceans is under increasing pressure,” he added.

Ki-moo said marine ecosystems are being threatened by three major phenomena:

• The overexploitation of living marine resources;
• Climate change;
• Pollution from activities involving materials and hazards.

“The same applies to the increase in criminal activities, including piracy, which have serious implications for safety of navigation and the protection of seafarers,” he noted.

A natural bug repellent: Herbal Armor

Biodegradable skincare protects the environment – and you – from carcinogens e.g. parabens

When going to marine and wildlife reserves, many tour companies will ask that you slather on biodegradable sunblock and bug repellent for diving into the ocean and cenotes, going kayaking, and so on. It would be fantastic to adopt this preference constantly, though. It’s the same as littering: shouldn’t we refrain from littering all the time rather than only when we are asked to?

First of all, regular sunscreens bleach corals, which are already dying off at an alarming rate due to several factors, this one included, and also global warming, irresponsible human activities, and other types of pollution. So any time you get in the water — even into a pool, as all water ends up in the ocean eventually and it is not treated for toxic chemicals, and even less in remote areas such as Tulum and Xcacel Xcacelito — you would be helping to take care of the environment by using only environmentally-friendly products.

Last, I will reiterate that regular sunblock contains carcinogenic ingredients — that is, they cause cancer. You would thus be doing yourself a big favor by staying away from those products.

FYI: I found Hawaiian Tropic Biodegradable sunscreen in SPF 30 and 50 as well as a natural bug repellent in Tulum, on the road where myriad hotels are located on the coast. And you can, of course, find many such products online; for example, this bug repellent, this reef-safe biodegradable sunscreen, this deodorant, this shower gel, this shampoo, and this conditioner.  

Check your cosmetics and ingredients here for safety.

GVI volunteers carrying out the weekly plankton sampling at L’ilot for Marine Conservation Society Seychelles (MCSS). Photo by Jon Bilbrough

Have you heard of Global Vision International? GVI’s been around since 1998 and works to develop sustainable development through research, conservation, and education. It provides services to charities, NGOs, and governmental agencies around the globe through promotion, donations, and volunteering.

GVI is neither a political nor a religious organization. It sends 2,000 volunteers out per year to aid-reliant projects in over 30 countries.

If you’re not looking to go tan on yet another beach and take more of the same pictures, check out the conservation and humanitarian projects at GVI. You can browse through GVI’s volunteer options, destinations, and more to find something that suits you.

I know that even when I am exhausted and think “I need a vacation!!” more than two days doing nothing will jar me. If I can go somewhere beautiful, enjoy a radical change of scenery, meet new people, and do something that will help others, I feel more rewarded than if I had just spent a week getting sunburned on some beach.

Don’t get me wrong-I love the beach. But after a few hours kayaking and swimming and reading, don’t you get bored? It’d be cool to go somewhere on vacation and know that whenever you got bored or tired of it, you could go on to volunteer somewhere in the area.

GVI even offers responsible holidays of one week or more. For example, the Mexican Marine Expedition in the Caribbean Sea, where they teach you diving to contribute toward coral reef research in the area. (Remember that green sunscreen!) Or you can teach English to Buddhist monks in Laos! There are some awesome options in there, stuff I wouldn’t have thought of.

With GVI, you get training and career development opportunities through the trips and volunteering, so you could even view your time with them as an investment, depending on your future goals.

I think within the next several years, I will go volunteer somewhere for several weeks. Build homes for the homeless, teach English to people in secluded areas, help research for nature conservation. It’s scary–what will happen to your job when you get back, right? True. But when there’s a will, there’s a way.

LIVING MACHINES: Clean, Green Waste-Water Recycling

Here’s a topic I haven’t read much about at all: how to gauge your own eco comfort level.

It’s true: you may be okay walking around naked, consuming a vegan diet, and living electricity-free, while I might be cool with that as long as I can also have wi-fi access and an outlet for my laptop. Or maybe you feel strongly about showering with hot water when vacationing in Alaska. Hey-to each her or his own.

Here’s an article I came across in which the author brings one’s own personal comfort level into play. Turns out he needs iPhone access everywhere he goes, which he didn’t realize until the first day of two-week-long trip! Oops.

Say you’re going on a trip.

The most overwhelming part of taking an eco vacation may just be the planning! It can be tough just gauging your personal eco comfort level. Sure, it’s easy to say certain things, like that you’d only stay at a 100% sustainable hotel, or that you want your vacation to be completely relaxing and you promise to leave your laptop behind.

But will these statements hold up as truths once it’s time to take action?

Or will you refuse purchasing biodegradable sunscreen to take on your snorkeling trip on the grounds that, well, you know, you’re too busy? If you plan ahead, you can take care of all those little things. Buying biodegradable sunblock is a piece of cake compared to staying somewhere with no electricity!

Ecotourism is a burgeoning field, and most people are still only learning about it, they’re still new at the whole “ecotourism thing.”

In a few months, I will be taking a vacation with a couple of people who have never gone on an eco vacation. Now, while one of them, my mother, is enthusiastic about renewable energy sources, turning off the lights when leaving a room, and not littering, she is fanatical about drying her hair post-shower and taking her Blackberry everywhere.

Let the negotiations begin!

She will probably be surprised, if not shocked, when I suggest a lodge with a sustainable wastewater management system and no air conditioning. A lot of people just don’t know how deep green living can take you!

I wonder how far I’ll be able to take her. I’ll keep you updated.

image by yoshiffles

Maybe you’re running short on cash. Maybe you want to get to know the state, or the country, see the gradual transformation of the lush green mountains of Kentucky into the flat, swampy Everglades in Florida, or drive from one side of the Andes to the other (on the Chile side, you can see both the Andes and the beach from any spot!).

Whatever the reason, sometimes the idea of taking a road trip is very appealing. With this decision, though, come others: how to deal with your car’s carbon emissions, how to pay for gas, how to minimize how much gas you need, how to stabilize the temperature in the car, how to minimize waste, and plenty more.

Here are some things you can do to green up your trip:

• Trade your car (or plane!) trip for a train or bus trip. Public transportation always beats driving your own car. You will be producing smaller amounts of greenhouse gasses per passenger mile/kilometer and spending less money overall. Traveling by bus means reducing the pollution of cars, motorcycles, and trucks by two-thirds! A giant difference. Also keep in mind that rails pollute more than buses, and planes, well, they double the pollution of buses (intercity travel).

• If you’re set on traveling by car, try to travel in a fuel-efficient car. See some here and read up on fuel economy here.

• If your car is not fuel-efficient, just prepare it properly: tune your engine and check the tires to get better gas mileage (which will benefit your car’s “health” and save you money!).

• Renting a car? Choose fuel-efficient! Obviously. Many rental companies will offer you this eco friendly option. Hybrids are preferable; otherwise, choose a subcompact, compact, or economy car. Larger vehicles always use up more gas.

• Carpool! Another no-brainer. Seriously. I don’t care that your cousin listens to death metal. Wear ear plugs.

• Plan ahead! Bring reusable containers, not Ziplocs (unless you plan on washing and reusing them). Tupperware to take leftovers from restaurants, travel mugs for your coffee, and so on. Also, get your directions straight to avoid wasting excess gas. And don’t forget your biodegradable sunscreen!

• When you stop for gas or to rest, turn off the engine. Just like when you leave a room and you switch off the light. Same thing. It’s a good habit.

• Drive under the speed limit to save on gas, and at a mellow pace if possible. Consider taking back roads and other less-traveled paths instead of the highway.

• See if you can find any green hotels to stay at, go camping, or maybe try Couch Surfing and teach your gracious host(ess) how to green up her/his living quarters! Choose what you want to do and research how to make it green. It’s your responsibility.

Any experiences taking a green road trip?

Add us on Twitter http://twitter.com/EcoDestinations!

I find this issue fascinating, so I wanted to delve into it deeper. Here we go –

Corals:

Scientific studies ascertained a relationship between the approximately 4,000 to 6,000 tons of sunscreen melting off swimmers’ skins and the quickly increasing decline in corals. It turns out that four common sunscreen ingredients (octinoxate, oxybenzone 4-methylbenzylidene camphor, and the preservative butylparaben) activate dormant viruses in corals, which go on to destroy algae—what corals feed on, and without which corals turn white and die.

About 60% of reefs around the world are currently in danger of dying due to global warming, excess UV radiation, and human activity—whether because anchors and boats tear through them, we pollute them with our garbage, or we drown them in our skincare products.

According to the European Commission, the chemicals in sunscreen and other skincare products are so harmful that areas such as marine eco-parks in Mexico straight-out ban them. These chemicals “can accumulate in aquatic animals, have an estrogen-like effect and biodegrade into toxic by-products.”

When they added low quantities of sunscreen to water around coral reefs, they found that “large amounts of coral mucous … was (sic) released within 18-48 hours. Within 96 hours, complete bleaching of corals had occurred.” Previously dormant viruses residing within the corals came alive and triggered widespread infections, effects also caused by pesticides and other pollutants.It only takes 20 minutes in the water for 25% of the harmful ingredients in your sunscreen to be released into the water.

Fish:

All the way back in 2006, the University of Applied Sciences in Basil, Switzerland, found endocrine disruptors (UV filters) in fish—male fish with not only sperm, but also female eggs. Read more here.

Humans:

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) conducted research on 1,031 common brands of sunscreen last year. They found that:

• 4 out of 5 do not offer adequate protection from the sun’s harmful rays
• many include ingredients that may be unsafe
• best-selling sunscreens (e.g. Coppertone, Banana Boat, and Neutrogena) proved to be the worst offenders. Here is the best and worst list: Find your sunscreen.
• many sunscreens only protect against UVB radiations (which cause sunburns), and not UVA radiations (which cause skin damage, aging, immune system problems, and skin cancer)
• 46% of sunscreens contain ingredients that break down under UV rays within minutes or hours, letting UV rays damage your skin
• sunscreens in the form of powder and spray make it easier for toxic nano-scale ingredients to get into your body than lotion sunscreens containing the same ingredients
• some sunscreens—and their toxic ingredients (namely, oxybenzone and other UV filters)—enter the bloodstream. These ingredients may exude free radicals in the sunlight, disrupt the endocrine system, cause allergies, and build up in the body
• the FDA is not currently taking care of these issues, so you must do so for yourself

Read more here.

SOLUTION: wear biodegradable sunscreens without questionable ingredients, apply the sunscreen repeatedly to the skin, wear a hat, and wear UV-resistant clothing (e.g. Solartex and No Zone).