Opposing Opinions: Hawaii Bans Some Sunscreens In Order to Save the Coral Reefs

Hawaii is poised to become the first state to ban the sale of sunscreens with chemicals that could harm coral reefs. Oxybenzoen and octinoxate, which gets into the water from swimmers and through sewage, contributes to bleaching of the corals according to recent research. Craig Downs, Executive Director the Heretics Environmental Laboratory, a nonprofit research center, joins to discuss this move. But, this is a move that not everyone supports, given that skin cancer rates are on the rise in Hawaii and the US. Karen Glanz, a Professor of Epidemiology and Nursing at Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine and a visiting professor at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, joins us to discuss why she thinks Hawaii and others should hold off on such bans as they put people’s lives at risk and do little to save the coral reefs.