The world is coming to a crash, and our sea life is dying profusely with extreme losses of coral, fish and ocean life. Coral life has decreased about 75% due to bleaching in the span of three years. Bleaching happens when corals shed algae turning them white due to immense amounts of stress. These species are crucial to a sustainable ocean environment because 30% of sea life is reliant on these corals for nutrients, organic matter and habitats.

It’s vital for us to take a step forward and truly change our actions and our impacts. Simple actions we can all take in our everyday life consist of being more conscious of what we buy or buy into, our waste content and contact with coral life. Especially with our upcoming spring and summer vacations, it’s important for us to be aware of what not to do.

Ocean Research College Academy (ORCA) student, Luiz Stern, brings to light how uninformed we are about our underwater environments. Little decisions we make can affect the coral species immensely.

“The process is fairly slow as the symbiotic relationship between the coral polyps and algae is broken, so the bleaching can be a good sign of coral health. Coral bleaching throughout a large population of coral is a good tell of the health of the local ecosystem as a whole since a lot of fish rely on the coral to survive,” Stern said.

Many people don’t take those few seconds to read the list of ingredients in a tiny font on the back of packaging on our products, especially when it comes to sunscreen. In reality, there are chemicals that we put onto our skin that when they come into contact with the water are deadly to the ocean, such as oxybenzone and octinoxate.

These chemicals found in plenty of sunscreens, which are banned in Hawaii to help preserve sea life, are the most common UV protectants used in sunscreens. Consumers need to be vigilant because labels may claim to be “reef safe” when that claim is actually inaccurate. Well, 6,000 tons each year are found in coral reefs around the globe, yearly.

To avoid negatively impacting sea life, switch to mineral sunscreens, considered as “non-nanotized”. With growing awareness of the environmental impacts people are making on the planet, there is a growing number of sunscreens that are safe for ocean life.

Beyond changing sunscreen brands, there are other small changes people can make.

“I try to use reusable utensils, water bottles, and straws as much as possible. I also use reef-safe sunscreen when I go swimming since other sunscreens can lead to coral bleaching,” Baird said.

Plastic that ends up in the ocean decreases the oxygen levels, allowing for disease to impact the coral, making them extremely weak.

Not only does it destroy coral life, but it is killing hundreds of thousands of animals, who consume or get trapped in our plastic waste. We rarely come into contact with the ocean, so it is easy to lose awareness. However, those few times we do get up close and personal with coral reefs, it’s necessary to be aware of how we can care for them.

Never touch coral or sea life when you are diving. Even one little touch or poke can destroy an entire colony of corals. Small bacteria and oils from the tip of your finger spread onto the coral, which can weaken the membrane, making them susceptible to disease.

Never stand on them even to adjust your gear, it will kill them. Not only diving, but when boating and fishing, we need to be conscious of where corals are to steer clear of them because being touched by humans or human-made items can be deadly to the coral. The very few corals we have left must be protected, this simple act of avoiding them could save thousands.

Coral is absolutely beautiful, it’s something we will never be able to find anywhere other than the ocean, and we must cherish it and treat it as such. If our coral dies off, we will be destroying an entire chain of ecosystems. It’s crucial for not only our benefit, but other species, to put the ocean first, and make a change in our world. Thousands of species rely on coral and it is essential to be able to live. It will eliminate marine biodiversity, a variety of fisheries, ecosystems, feeding grounds, possible medicine, and it would directly affect our fish supply.

These few, extremely minimal changes that don’t affect us, could save an entire world. Whether we can see them, or not. Getting involved is one of the best ways to make a change. Such as resources such as Chasing Corals on Netflix or local marine online resources.

“There are also many nonprofits that cultivate coral to grow more reefs and you are able to buy corals to help fund their efforts. In general, it’s helpful to stay educated on how human activity impacts the oceans around us,” Baird said.