Trending
I haven't been to Maui in eight years and was dismayed to see how much of the coral in Napili and Honolua Bay is dead. There are still fish but much less numerous than in the past and about 75 percent of the coral was dead and covered in what looked like brown algae.
I saw many people spraying themselves with sunblock, sunblock that would have the oxybenzone that kills coral. It seems to me that locals would want their state government to pay for signs at every public beach to make sure people know not to use conventional sunblock. Otherwise, in a few years your underwater paradise will be a graveyard and your No. 1 income source will start to dry up.
I mentioned the problem to some people sitting near me at Honolua and they looked at me like I was a nutcase. I think they just have never heard of this before.
A handout on every airplane into Hawaii would help. The airlines should help finance the cost since they make money on tourists coming here on vacation and their business will also be affected if snorkeling and scuba come to an end. Plus, it's the right thing to do for our planet!
Tama Takahashi
Santa Barbara, Calif.