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Warm Pond & Sunscreen
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03-25-2011, 04:18 PM
At the Ahalanui warm pond the other day a man in the water told me I shouldn't come in the water because I had sunscreen on. He said it harmed the ecosystem of the pond. I had never seen any signs about this and no one ever told me this before (I've been going there for years). Does anyone have any information about the impact of sunscreens on the pond?
03-25-2011, 04:25 PM
I think it's a good idea to wait 15-20 minutes for the sunscreen to soak into your skin before entering the water.
03-25-2011, 05:46 PM
Put sunscreen on your hand then dunk it in a bowl of water .. Watch what happens ...
On to say, that guy was being a dick IMHO and I would have cannonballed right in next to him. pog
03-25-2011, 08:03 PM
Then swish your hand around in the bowl for a bit. Then Drink the Water. mmm...good
03-26-2011, 12:02 AM
It's the Do-gooders Dilemma. There is no question that sunscreen harms certain underwater eco-systems (although my guess would that it wouldn't affect Ahalanui much -- it's all sandy muck down there). There is also no question that your foregoing sunscreen will not prevent thousands, or even millions of others from wearing sunscreen and making little watery rainbows of suffocating chemicals in their wake.
Having a house in (as opposed to on) Kealakekua Bay is also bad for the eco-system. We do our best on an individual basis, I guess.
03-26-2011, 03:16 AM
A few thoughts...
There are also "safer" types of sunscreens that you can buy that are not as harmful to the aquatic ecosystem...but once again, if you are the only one doing it, then it doesn't solve the problem either. Skip the sunscreen, wear a hat in the pond, the rest of your body is underwater so shouldn't get burned. If you do use sunscreen as you lounge outside the pond, there is a shower there that you can rinse of before you enter the pond. This is just my opinion, and I would never approach anyone and tell them this at the pond. --- Life is the only thing worth living for...
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03-26-2011, 04:17 AM
Ahalanui is a man made swimming pool.
Do we really need to worry about the ecosystem in a swimming pool ? It seems to be doing fine anyway,the little fish that nibble at you and the crabs seem to be doing fine. There is some concern that sunscreens can harm coral.Never seen any coral there.What about the sweat from all of the dirty bodies entering the water.Sweat is body waste.Lets worry about that !
03-26-2011, 05:10 AM
agree about the body fluids in that warm pond. Some of the folks do not shower before going in and sure haven't scrubbed the dirt off. this may be "bath day" for some of these folks. also I worry more about an abundance of small children peeing in the pools than I do sunscreen. The bacteria in there can cause infections in open cuts...and it is not bacteria from sunscreen either.
03-26-2011, 05:24 AM
quote: Since we're all just flinging opinions here, I thought it would be prudent to do just a bit of research, as there is a reasonable possibility that some people might actually read this and heed the various ideas. Biodegradable sunscreens are an effective alternative to those types that harm coral reefs etc., but as was pointed out here, Ahalanui has no coral reefs... that said, please do not skip the sunscreen. Water actually magnifies UV rays and skin cancer is a major concern for haoles. DON'T SKIP SUNSCREEN!
03-26-2011, 06:15 AM
Yep, was gonna say that. ... Being "under" in the swimming sense is not protected.
I think the eco-system will adapt before we will : ) |
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