Warming oceans, and now sunscreen

And here you thought you were doing a good thing by lathering up with sunscreen for protection against the cancerous rays of the sun, when what you really were doing was helping kill Hawaii’s endangered coral population. Yes, apparently it’s true. A study published in a science journal in February reported that a chemical found in sun lotion — oxybenzone — inhibits living coral from properly recovering and regenerating from damage caused by sun bleaching — a problem in itself for coral — turning them into “zombie” reefs. And because Hawaii is a tourist mecca to which millions of visitors flock every year, the problem has shown up here and other sunny spots such as the U.S. Virgin Islands.

What to do? Don’t go out in the sun anymore? Another option is to get the lotion companies to stop using oxybenzone, and there are, indeed, people working toward that goal.

Getting medical marijuana still complicated

To those who really, really believed Hawaii’s first medical marijuana dispensary would open July 15, the first day allowed by law, we ask: What you been smokin’?

Though the state finally kickstarted the legal process last year via quickly crafted Department of Health rules then an applications round, it was clear April’s awarding of the first eight licenses was just the start of Round 2. Now come all the intricacies of growing the weed, lab certification and launching of the businesses. Hang in there.