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No, sunscreen chemicals are not bleaching the Great Barrier Reef

For the sixth time in the last 25 years, the Great Barrier Reef <a href="https://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/the-reef/reef-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener">is bleaching</a>. During bleaching events, people are quick to point the finger at different causes, including <a href="https://owlcation.com/stem/Coral-Bleaching-and-Oxybenzone-Choose-Your-Sunscreen-Carefully" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sunscreen</a>. Why sunscreen? Some active ingredients can wash off snorkelers and into the reef, contaminating the area. So could this be the cause of the Barrier Reef’s bleaching? In a word, no. I reviewed the evidence for sunscreen as a risk to coral in my <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/CH/CH21236" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new research</a>, and found that while chemicals in sunscreen pose a risk to corals under laboratory conditions, they are only found at very low levels in real world environments. That means when coral bleaching does occur, it is more likely to be due to the marine heatwaves and increased water temperatures that have come with climate change, as well as land-based run-off. Why have we been concerned over the environmental impact of sunscreens? After we apply sunscreen, the active ingredients can leach from our skin into the water. When we shower after swimming, soaps and detergents can further strip the these sunscreen chemicals off and send them into our waste water systems. They pass through treatment facilities, which cannot effectively remove them, and end up in rivers and oceans. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454296/original/file-20220325-21-1agae0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454296/original/file-20220325-21-1agae0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454296/original/file-20220325-21-1agae0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454296/original/file-20220325-21-1agae0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454296/original/file-20220325-21-1agae0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454296/original/file-20220325-21-1agae0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454296/original/file-20220325-21-1agae0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454296/original/file-20220325-21-1agae0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="hands putting on sunscreen" /></a><figcaption>Sunscreen isn’t the cause of the coral bleaching. Shutterstock</figcaption></figure> It’s no surprise, then, that sunscreen contamination has been detected in freshwater and seas across the globe, from <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15996716/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Switzerland</a> to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-015-5174-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brazil</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27235899/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hong Kong</a>. Contamination is highest in the summer months, consistent with when people are more likely to go swimming, and peaks in the hours after people have finished swimming. Four years ago, the Pacific island nation of Palau made world headlines by announcing plans to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/02/pacific-island-to-introduce-world-first-reef-toxic-sunscreen-ban" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ban all sunscreens</a> that contain specific synthetic active ingredients due to concern over the risk they posed to corals. <a href="https://www.cntraveler.com/story/these-destinations-are-banning-certain-sunscreens" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Similar bans</a> have been announced by Hawaii, as well a number of other popular tourist areas in the Americas and Caribbean. These bans are based on independent scientific studies and <a href="https://coralreefpalau.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/CRRF-UNESCO-Sunscreen-in-Jellyfish-Lake-no.2732.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commissioned reports</a> which have found contamination from specific active ingredients in sunscreen in the water at beaches, rivers and lakes. Notably, the nations and regions which have banned these active ingredients, like Bonaire and Mexico, have local economies heavily reliant on summer tourism. For these areas, coral bleaching is not only an environmental catastrophe but an economic loss as well, if tourists choose to go elsewhere. How do we know sunscreen isn’t the issue? So if contamination concerns over these active ingredients are warranted, how can we be sure they’re not the cause of the bleaching in the Great Barrier Reef? Put simply, the concentrations of the chemicals are too low to cause the bleaching. The synthetic ingredients used in most products are highly <a href="https://www.corrosionpedia.com/definition/653/hydrophobic#:%7E:text=Hydrophobic%20is%20a%20property%20of,Oils%20and%20fats%20are%20hydrophobic." target="_blank" rel="noopener">hydrophobic</a> and <a href="https://www.greenfacts.org/glossary/jkl/lipophilic.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lipophilic</a>. That means they shun water and love fats, making them hard to dissolve in water. They’d much prefer to stay in the skin until they break down. Because of this, the levels found in the environment are very low. How low? Think nanograms per litre (a nanogram is 0.000000001 grams) or micrograms per litre (a microgram is 0.00001 grams). Significantly higher levels are found only in waste water treatment sludge and some sediments, not in the water itself. So how do we reconcile this with studies showing sunscreen can damage corals? Under laboratory conditions, many active ingredients in sunscreen have been found to damage corals as well as <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22828885/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mussels</a>, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17889917/#:%7E:text=BP%2D2%20was%20accumulated%20in,and%20female%20fish%20were%20observed." target="_blank" rel="noopener">fish</a>, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24359924/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">small crustaceans</a>, and plant-like organisms such as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0269749111006713" target="_blank" rel="noopener">algae and phytoplankton</a>. The key phrase above is “under laboratory conditions”. While these studies would suggest sunscreens are a real threat to reefs, it’s important to know the context. Studies like these are usually conducted under artificial conditions which can’t account for natural processes. They usually don’t account for the breakdown of the chemicals by sunlight or dilution through water flow and tides. These tests also use sunscreen concentrations up to thousands of times higher – milligrams per litre – compared to real world contamination levels found in collected samples. In short, laboratory-only studies are not giving us a reliable indication of what happens to these chemicals in real world conditions. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454298/original/file-20220325-21-1wft8gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454298/original/file-20220325-21-1wft8gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454298/original/file-20220325-21-1wft8gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454298/original/file-20220325-21-1wft8gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454298/original/file-20220325-21-1wft8gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454298/original/file-20220325-21-1wft8gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454298/original/file-20220325-21-1wft8gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454298/original/file-20220325-21-1wft8gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="Sea wave seen side on" /></a><figcaption>Laboratory studies don’t tend to account for dilution in seas or rivers. Shutterstock</figcaption></figure> If it’s not sunscreen, what is it? The greatest threats to the reef are climate change, coastal development, land-based run-off like pesticides, herbicides, and other pollutants, and direct human use like illegal fishing, according to a <a href="https://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/our-work/outlook-report-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2019 outlook report</a> issued by the reef’s managing body. Reefs get their striking colours from single-celled organisms called <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_corals/coral02_zooxanthellae.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">zooxanthellae</a> which grow and live inside corals. Importantly, these organisms only grow under very specific conditions, including narrow bands of temperature and light levels. When conditions go outside the zooxanthellaes’ preferred zone, they die and the coral turns white. As a result, the likeliest cause of this bleaching is <a href="https://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/our-work/threats-to-the-reef/climate-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate change</a>, which has increased ocean temperatures and acidity and resulted in more flooding, storms, and cyclones which block light and stir up the ocean floor. So do you need to worry about the impact of your sunscreen on the environment? No. Sunscreen should remain a key part of our sun protection strategy, as a way to protect skin from UV damage, prevention skin cancers, and slow the visible signs of ageing. Our coral reefs face much bigger issues than sunscreen.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179938/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nial-wheate-96839" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nial Wheate</a>, Associate Professor of the Sydney Pharmacy School, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Sydney</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/no-sunscreen-chemicals-are-not-bleaching-the-great-barrier-reef-179938" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original article</a>. Image: Getty Images

Domestic Travel

5 major heatwaves in 30 years have turned the Great Barrier Reef into a bleached checkerboard

Just 2% of the Great Barrier Reef remains untouched by bleaching since 1998 and 80% of individual reefs have bleached severely once, twice or three times since 2016, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960982221014901">our new study</a> reveals today. We measured the impacts of five marine heatwaves on the Great Barrier Reef over the past three decades: in 1998, 2002, 2016, 2017 and 2020. We found these bouts of extreme temperatures have transformed it into a checkerboard of bleached reefs with very different recent histories. Whether we still have a functioning Great Barrier Reef in the decades to come depends on how much higher we allow global temperatures to rise. The bleaching events we’ve already seen in recent years are a result of the world warming by 1.2℃ since pre-industrial times. World leaders meeting at the climate summit in Glasgow must commit to more ambitious promises to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions. It’s vital for the future of corals reefs, and for the hundreds of millions of people who depend on them for their livelihoods and food security. <h2>Coral in a hotter climate</h2> The Great Barrier Reef is comprised of more than 3,000 individual reefs stretching for <a href="https://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/the-reef/reef-facts">2,300 kilometres</a>, and supports more than 60,000 jobs in reef <a href="https://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/our-work/Managing-multiple-uses/tourism-on-the-great-barrier-reef">tourism</a>. Under climate change, the frequency, intensity and scale of climate extremes is changing rapidly, including the record-breaking marine heatwaves that cause corals to bleach. Bleaching is a stress response by overheated corals, where they lose their colour and many struggle to survive. If all new COP26 pledges by individual countries are actually met, then the projected increase in average global warming could be brought down <a href="https://www.climate-resource.com/tools/ndcs">to 1.9℃</a>. In theory, this would put us in line with the goal of the Paris Agreement, which is to keep global warming below 2℃, but preferably 1.5℃, this century. However, it is still not enough to prevent the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/spm/">ongoing degradation</a> of the world’s coral reefs. The damage to coral reefs from anthropogenic heating so far is very clear, and further warming will continue to <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aan8048">ratchet down</a> reefs throughout the tropics. <h2>Ecological memories of heatwaves</h2> Most reefs today are in early <a href="https://www.aims.gov.au/reef-monitoring/gbr-condition-summary-2020-2021">recovery mode</a>, as coral populations begin to re-build since they last experienced bleaching in 2016, 2017 and 2020. It takes about a decade for a decent recovery of the fastest growing corals, and much longer for slow-growing species. Many coastal reefs that were severely bleached in 1998 have never fully recovered. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430169/original/file-20211104-19-1po1sc2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430169/original/file-20211104-19-1po1sc2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> The fringing reef flat at Orpheus Island on the central Great Barrier Reef, prior to mass coral bleaching in 1998. Bette Willis and Andrew Baird, Author provided <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430168/original/file-20211104-27-16wyz5j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430168/original/file-20211104-27-16wyz5j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> The same reef flat at Orpheus Island after further bleaching in 2002 and 2016. Bette Willis and Andrew Baird, Author provided Each bleaching event so far has a different geographic footprint. Drawing upon <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/6/11/11579">satellite data</a>, we measured the duration and intensity of heat stress that the Great Barrier Reef experienced each summer, to explain why different parts were affected during all five events. The bleaching responses of corals differed greatly in each event, and was strongly influenced by the recent history of previous bleaching. For this reason, it’s important to measure the extent and severity of bleaching directly, where it actually occurs, and not rely exclusively on water temperature data from satellites as an indirect proxy. We found the most vulnerable reefs each year were the ones that had not bleached for a decade or longer. On the other hand, when successive episodes were close together in time (one to four years apart), the heat threshold for severe bleaching increased. In other words, the earlier event had hardened regions of the Great Barrier Reef to subsequent impacts. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430176/original/file-20211104-15-noksid.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430176/original/file-20211104-15-noksid.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="Bleached coral" /></a> Bleaching is a stress response by overheated corals. Shutterstock For example, in 2002 and 2017, it took much more heat to trigger similar levels of bleaching that were measured in 1998 and 2016. The threshold for bleaching was much higher on reefs that had experienced an earlier episode of heat stress. Similarly, southern corals, which escaped bleaching in 2016 and 2017, were the most vulnerable in 2020, compared to central and northern reefs that had bleached severely in previous events. Many different mechanisms could generate these historical effects, or ecological memories. One is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0041-2">heavy losses</a> of the more heat-susceptible coral species during an earlier event – dead corals don’t re-bleach. Nowhere left to hide Only a single cluster of reefs remains unbleached in the far south, downstream from the rest of the Great Barrier Reef, in a small region that has remained consistently cool through the summer months during all five mass bleaching events. These reefs lie at the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef, where upwelling of cool water may offer some protection from heatwaves, at least so far.<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430397/original/file-20211104-23-29h946.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430397/original/file-20211104-23-29h946.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> Map of the Great Barrier Reef showing the cumulative level of bleaching observed in 2016, 2017 and 2020. The colours represent the intensity of bleaching, ranging from zero (category 1, dark blue) to severe bleaching that affected more than 60% of corals (category 4, red) Author provided In theory, a judiciously placed network of well-protected, climate-resistant reefs might help to repopulate the <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/conl.12587">broader seascape</a>, if greenhouse gas emissions are curtailed to stabilise temperatures later this century. But the unbleached southern reefs are too few in number, and too far away from the rest of the Great Barrier Reef to produce and deliver sufficient coral larvae, to promote a long-distance recovery. Instead, future replenishment of depleted coral populations is more likely to be local. It would come from the billions of larvae produced by recovering adults on nearby reefs that have not bleached for a while, or by corals inhabiting reef in deeper waters which tend to experience less heat stress than those living in shallow water. Future recovery of corals will increasingly be temporary and incomplete, before being interrupted again by the inevitable next bleaching event. Consequently, the patchiness of living coral on the Great Barrier Reef will increase further, and corals will continue to decline under climate change. Our findings make it clear we no longer have the luxury of studying individual climate-related events that were once unprecedented, or very rare. Instead, as the world gets hotter, it’s increasingly important to understand the effects and combined outcomes of sequences of rapid-fire catastrophes.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170719/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/terry-hughes-9894">Terry Hughes</a>, Distinguished Professor, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/james-cook-university-1167">James Cook University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sean-connolly-94343">Sean Connolly</a>, Research Biologist, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/smithsonian-institution-1227">Smithsonian Institution</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/5-major-heatwaves-in-30-years-have-turned-the-great-barrier-reef-into-a-bleached-checkerboard-170719">original article</a>.

Domestic Travel

12-year-old autistic boy "left to die" after drinking bleach

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> A 12-year-old boy has been "left to die" after being tricked into drinking something that his mother believes was laced with bleach. Ronnie Phillips was left in an induced coma after sneaking out of the house with his younger brother to meet some other children. It was here that the other children gave Ronnie the drink, which he took as he thought it was alcohol. Ronnie's heartbroken mother Danielle Potter told <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.sussexlive.co.uk/news/sussex-news/crawley-boy-12-left-die-4597796" target="_blank">SussexLive</a> that her son collapsed and his brother was screaming for help as he thought he died. “I just want to make people realise the dangers of drink, drugs, playing stupid games and running away leaving a child to die,” Danielle told the publication. “Kids will be kids but this sort of stuff is just ridiculous and dangerous”. Sharing her son’s experience online as a warning, Danielle added: “What my 12-year-old thought would be a laugh and a bit of fun with his mates has resulted with him like this in a coma, a machine breathing for him and in ICU.” His grandmother posted an update to the <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/fq96f-ronnie?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1&fbclid=IwAR2zp7jBuyRAVDGQTn4JQjQaVSkdzDbMpNWqxA83MLKfVKNMLP0Ez1CPW50" target="_blank" class="editor-rtflink">GoFundMe</a> page updating people about Ronnie's condition. “This is my 12 year old grandson who is autistic. On Friday night some older children tricked him into drinking bleach and the result was him having to be put in a induced coma!” Tracey Willmor wrote. “He is now awake but can’t understand why no one likes him and would do this to him when he thought they was his friends! I want to show him that people do care and are not all nasty” Ronnie has since recovered and is due to return home soon. </div> </div> </div>

Body

10 different ways you're not using bleach but you should be

You can use bleach for much more than just brightening white clothes. 1. Keep your Christmas tree alive for longer Keep the holiday spirit around just a bit longer with the help of bleach. According to Julia Byrne, a product developer, bleach at Clorox, you can prolong the life of your freshly cut tree with an easy mixture. Use a solution of two teaspoons of bleach per two litres of hot water, plus one cup of corn syrup, and an eighth of a cup of powdered iron from your local nursery. This mixture goes into your tree stand bowl instead of plain water, Byrne says. 2. Let your garden flourish Try using bleach to clean flower pots and plants. “By cleaning your containers it helps prevent the transfer of moulds and diseases from old plants to new ones,” Byrne says. To disinfect, wash and rinse pots and planters by soaking them in a solution of half a cup of bleach to four litres of water for at least five minutes before rinsing with water. 3. Freshen up your garbage bins Although garbage bins hold your garbage bags, the bins themselves need a good clean with bleach, too. Wash with soapy water and rinse. Then deodorise and sanitise the bins with a mixture of half a cup of bleach per three litres of water. Swish this solution over the inside of the bin and let it sit for two minutes before rinsing. 4. Keep fresh cut flowers alive If you don’t have a green thumb, you can still use bleach to keep store-bought flowers alive. Smell your freshly cut flowers for longer by keeping them in cold water with a quarter teaspoon of bleach per litre of water, according to Byrne. 5, Eliminate litter box odour Put an end to unpleasant cat box odours with bleach because it kills odour-causing germs, Byrne says. Wash the litter box with sudsy water and rinse. Then wipe it down with a solution of half a cup of bleach to four litres of water. Wait five minutes before rinsing. 6. Clean off mould and mildew Bleach not only removes mould and mildew stains, but also kills the fungus, according to Byrne. “By killing the fungus, you no longer have to worry about the harmful effects that mould can have to your family’s health,” she says. Remove mould and mildew from your bathroom tiles with a mixture of equal parts bleach and water in a spray bottle. Let it sit for 15 minutes before scrubbing it off and rinsing. 7. Clean toys Legos and other hard, non-porous objects such as kids’ toys could definitely benefit from bleach, especially if they are second-hand. “Bleach is perfect for disinfecting second-hand products because you can disinfect a lot of items with a small amount of bleach at a time,” Byrne says. Here’s what to do: add half a cup of bleach per four litres of water. Then wipe the surface with the bleach solution and let it sit on the surface for at least five minutes. Rinse it well with water and let it air dry. 8. Brighten and clean second-hand white linens So you want to keep high thread count hand-me-down sheets without handing down any gross germs or bacteria. When washing, add two-thirds of a cup of bleach to your standard machine or one-third of a cup of bleach to your high-efficiency machine along with regular detergent. Ensure that the bleach contacts the clothes for ten minutes, Byrne says. 9. Clean most things in your kitchen Sanitise second-hand food contact surface in the kitchen such as stainless steel utensils, plastic cutting boards, glassware, dishes, or baby bottles, Byrne says. Wash with water first, then rinse and wipe the surface with a solution of two tablespoons of bleach to one gallon of water. Let the solution stand for two minutes, rinse well, and air dry. 10. Make a DIY spray to use on most surfaces Sealed tile, wood, countertops and plastic are all hard, non-porous surfaces that are safe for bleach. Create your own disinfecting spray with a combination of two cups of water and one tablespoon of bleach. Plus, bleach is good for cleaning glass dishware and porcelain because it doesn’t streak as much as some other cleaners, according to Byrne. Source: <a href="https://www.rd.com/home/cleaning-organizing/ways-to-use-bleach/">RD.com</a> Republished with permission of <a href="https://www.handyman.net.au/10-different-ways-youre-not-using-bleach-should">Handyman</a>.

Home & Garden

93 per cent of Great Barrier Reef hit by coral bleaching

A comprehensive, aerial and underwater survey of the Great Barrier Reef has suggested that 93 percent of the World Heritage site has been affected by coral bleaching. A review of more than 900 individual reefs showed the severe bleaching had occurred in the northern section of the reef, stretching 1,000 kilometres north of Port Douglas. Professor Terry Hughes from the National Coral Bleaching Taskforce told ABC News, "We've never seen bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef of that severity and when bleaching is that strong it affects virtually all coral species. We expect the central and southern corals to regain their colour and recover over the next few months.” "The southern third of the Great Barrier Reef fortunately cooled down late in summer due to ex-cyclone Winston. The 2016 footprint could have been much worse. "In 1998 and 2002, 40 per cent of the reefs had no bleaching — it's only 7 per cent this time," he said. We also know in 1998 and 2002 about 18 per cent of the reefs were severely bleaching — this time it's over half.” "So by those metrics this bleaching event is three or four times more severe." The aerial survey, which began last month, covered 911 individual reefs and found that only 68 had escape bleaching entirely. Of those that had been bleached, more than half had been severely bleached. If a coral remains bleached for an extended period it is likely to die, and Mr Hughes expects a mortality rate as high as 50 per cent in some parts of the reef. Professor Andrew Baird, from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, spent over two weeks at sea recording the bleaching, and told ABC News, "Tragically, the northern section is the most remote part of the reef, and its remoteness has protected it from most human pressures but not climate change. North of Port Douglas, we're already measuring an average of close to 50 per cent mortality of bleached corals." Related links: <a href="/lifestyle/family-pets/2015/12/life-lessons-from-grandparents/">Top 10 life lessons kids learn from grandparents</a> <a href="/lifestyle/family-pets/2015/10/quotes-about-siblings/">9 heart-warming quotes about siblings</a> <a href="/lifestyle/family-pets/2015/09/kids-addicted-to-technology/">How kids have fun today is alarmingly different to the good old days</a>

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Coral beaching puts future of Great Barrier Reef at risk

Concerns for the future of the Great Barrier Reef continue as Australian Environment Minister Greg Hunt has described the state of coral bleaching as, “major and significant”. Mr Hunt’s comments came after he received his latest briefing from the Reef 2050 Independent Expert Panel about the current state of bleaching. Mr Hunt said, “The event is still unfolding and the full extent and severity of bleaching may take several weeks to manifest. If major disturbances such as bleaching events occur more regularly, this will affect the reef's ability to recover.” Coral bleaching is a phenomenon that occurs due to increases in water temperature, and can kill or stunt the ability for the coral to recover. Mr Hunt’s admission comes as prominent naturalist Sir David Attenborough highlighted his concern for the reef’s future, “The twin perils brought by climate change, an increase in the temperature of the ocean and in its acidity threaten its very existence.” “Do we really care so little about the Earth on which we live that we don't wish to protect one of its greatest wonders from the consequences of our behaviour?” Related links: <a href="/lifestyle/family-pets/2016/02/vintage-photos-capture-pure-innocence-of-children/">Vintage photos capture the pure innocence of children</a> <a href="/lifestyle/family-pets/2016/02/how-to-bring-up-a-happy-child/">22 tips for bringing up a happy child</a> <a href="/lifestyle/family-pets/2016/02/heartwarming-photos-that-prove-every-child-needs-a-pet/">15 heartwarming photos that prove every child needs a pet</a>

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The DIY 3-ingredient alternative to bleach

While bleach is a powerful disinfectant, it’s not always the best option. If you’re worried about the environmental and health costs of bleach, try this DIY three-ingredient all natural alternative. It’s as effective without any of the harsh effects! You will need: <ul> <li>12 cups water</li> <li>¼ cup lemon juice</li> <li>1 cup hydrogen peroxide</li> </ul> How to: 1. Mix ingredients together and place in spray bottle to use as a household cleaner or to use in laundry for washing whites. Source: <a href="http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/10/a-natural-bleach-alternative.html" target="_blank">One Good Thing By Jillee</a> Related links: <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/home-garden/2016/01/uses-for-cornflour-around-the-home/">10 uses for cornflour around the home</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/home-garden/2016/01/natural-ways-to-get-rid-of-cockroaches/">8 natural ways to get rid of cockroaches</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/home-garden/2016/01/trick-to-make-composting-easier/">Simple trick to make composting easier</a>

Home & Garden

5 ways to use bleach in the garden

You know it’s a great cleaning product but did you know there are plenty of uses for bleach in the garden, too? Here are just five reasons to keep a bottle of bleach in the garden tool shed. Kill moss and weeds There are many times we welcome moss but when it’s on your brick, concrete or stone walkways, it can be slippery and unsightly. Scrub unwanted moss with a solution of ¾ cup bleach in three litres of water. If there are weeds poking out of the cracks and crevices of your walkways, pour a bit of undiluted bleach over them. Pull out after a day or two. Sanitise gardening tools Although gardening tools are tough and durable, it’s a good idea to give them a clean now and again as dirt will slowly corrode the metal and moving parts. Plus, if you’ve been handling a diseased plant, you don’t want your tools to spread the disease around. Wash tools with ½ cup bleach to one litre of water. Air-dry in sun and rub a bit of oil to prevent rust. Extend life of cut flowers While bleach is great for killing things, it also helps to extend the life of cut flowers. Add ¼ teaspoon of bleach to one litre of water. Its disinfectant properties will help keep water clean and inhibit growth of bacteria. Removes mildew If those outdoors chairs and benches are looking a tad “mildewy”, a simple bleach solution can help you remove those mildew stains. Add two to three tablespoons of bleach to a standard spray bottle of water. Spray on spots and rinse well. Clean flower pots To keep pots looking new, as well as killing any plant diseases that may linger from previous flowers, give pots a thorough scrubbing with a diluted bleach solution. Combined one part bleach to four parts of water to disinfect pots. Related links: <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/home-garden/2015/12/how-to-control-whiteflies-in-the-garden/">How to control whiteflies in the garden</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/home-garden/2015/12/homemade-remedies-for-the-garden/">Homemade remedies for the garden</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/home-garden/2015/12/household-tricks-from-the-1900s-2/">More great vintage household tricks from the 1900s</a>

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