Scientists worry sunscreen is hurting coral, but you have safe options

A biologist's research shows that a common chemical in sunscreens kills juvenile coral; Hawaiian officials have approved a ban, and other jurisdictions are considering it. Industry lobbyists say that is a hasty move for products long approved by the FDA. But there are alternatives.

Scott Heins/Getty Images ‘No one cares about my personal life, except the older men’: When young women run for office A record number of women are running for Congress this year, including several looking to join the four female representatives under the age of 40. Often, that means facing double standards about their relative lack of experience or their duties at home — and facing lots of flirting. But it also comes with something recent candidates have found valuable: outsider appeal. “I just think there's interest in having a different voice represent our community now. The fact that I am a millennial woman of color is very different.” Tham Luang Rescue Operation Center/AP A mile inside the Earth, 12 boys and a coach are alive — and training for an escape that may come sooner than anyone wants The youth soccer team in Thailand went exploring a cave after a match and became trapped by rising, monsoon-fueled floodwaters. Now the only way out is a six-hour sequence of dives through narrow passages full of cold, silt-filled, fast-moving water. One of their rescuers, a highly trained diver, ran out of oxygen and died in the tunnels this week. No one with the team knows how to dive — some don’t even know how to swim — but if the rains keep coming, they may have no choice but to try. Photo illustration by Eslah Attar/NPR With research suggesting oxybenzone exposure may damage some sea life, it might be a good time to try mineral sunscreens The corals most loved by divers and tourists are most at risk — especially at the busiest beaches, like those in Hawaii. With the tourism industry's approval, that state is phasing out the sale of oxybenzone-based sunscreens — about 70 percent of products on the market — and giving away samples of alternatives. Going without shouldn’t be an option — the rate of skin cancers is rising, despite more awareness. NPR The marketing stunt that lives on, 126 years later, in classrooms across the country In the 1892, The Youth’s Companion magazine was looking for a way to re-instill patriotism and unity among America's schoolchildren. It turned to socialist minister and advertising copywriter Francis Bellamy. The pledge he wrote took off and became nearly universal a couple of decades later during World War I. Though its wording and significance have shifted through the years, it’s still recited in schools today.. Jim Mone/AP ‘Mr. Phil was not scary’: Remembering a school cafeteria supervisor, two years after his needless shooting by police Philando Castile was misidentified as a robbery suspect, then shot and killed by a Minnesota police officer after a traffic stop. He warned the officer that he had a legal concealed handgun, then was fatally shot while getting the officer his wallet. Leila Ramgren, 10, tells StoryCorps that to her and her 400 classmates, Castile was a friend who would feed kids with his own money. “I was really mad. And I'm still mad," Ramgren’s dad says. "Hopefully the world will change." You received this message because you're subscribed to our Best of NPR emails. |  Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002