Going to the beach without sunscreen is never going to happen with any sensible soul. You don’t want to expose your delicate skin to harmful rays from the sun which can damage it. So lathering on the sunscreen is a must. However that sunscreen you applied is not going to stay on your skin when you go for a swim in the coastal waters. Even if the label reads water-proof the lotion is going to come off the skin and provide inadequate cover from the sun.

For the human being the good news is that you can easily apply yet another layer of sunscreen and sit down on the beach to soak up the rays. For the fish in the water the bad news is that the main ingredient of sunscreen is titanium dioxide. Add the water and the sun and you get a smoking chemical reaction creating hydrogen peroxide which unfortunately wipes out the phytoplankton right away.

With the harsh chemical taking out the phytoplankton, the fish are gradually going to starve and the whole food chain will be affected. The solution to this dilemma? No, its not using no sunscreen, rather its encouraging sun screen producers to manufacture a lotion which is more eco friendly and leaves less of a trace in the water. Now that’s a science project worth pursuing.