How’s your sun IQ?

With the hot (hotter, hottest) summer days ahead, it’s cool to know what you’re up against.

Take this quick quiz to find out how sun-smart you are:

1. I can get skin cancer even if my routine (driving to work, working, staying indoors) doesn’t include any outdoor activities. True or false?

2. If I’m wearing sunscreen (or sunblock), I can stay in the sun for as long as I want. True or false?

3. SPF tells you how much protection you get from the sun. True or false?

4. A sunscreen labeled SPF 30 blocks twice as much UV radiation as one labeled SPF 15. True or false?

5. SPF 30 means you can stay out in the sun for 30 minutes without getting burned. True or false?

6. It’s safe for children to stay in the pool all day if they slip on a T-shirt after a couple of hours and re-apply sunscreen to their faces, arms, and legs. True or false?

7. Sunscreen works as soon as you put it on. True or false?

8, Getting a "base tan" at a tanning salon is a good way to prevent sunburn when you engage in outdoor activities, which entail prolonged sun exposure. True or false?

9. If your skin doesn’t burn, you aren’t damaging it. True or false?

10. How often do you need to re-apply water-resistant sunscreen?

• Every two hours or sooner.

• After sweating or swimming.

• After you towel dry.

• All of the above.

Answers:

True — 1, 3, 4, 7

False — 2, 5, 6, 8, 9

10. All of the above.

But of course, you can have as much fun in the sun as you want — that is, as long as you arm yourself with sun-safe habits. Such as:

• Limit sun exposure during the hours when the UV rays are at their strongest, that is, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Your shadow is an indicator of the sun’s intensity. If your shadow is shorter than you are, the sun is at its highest intensity. Follow the shadow rule prescribed by the American Academy of Dermatology. Remember, if there’s no shadow, seek shade.

• Seek shade whenever possible. An umbrella is a handy shade provider. Also trees, which provide about 60 percent protection from the sun’s rays.

• Wear a wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses (one hot tip: look for shades that are close fitting to prevent UV rays from filtering in) and long-sleeved, tightly woven clothes. Hats are the best way to minimize UV radiation exposure to the face, head, ears, and neck. Sunglasses block out 100 percent of UVA and UVB radiation to protect the eyes from damage. Clothing, which can physically block out the sun’s harmful rays, provides one of the first lines of defense against sun exposure.

• Use broad-spectrum sunscreens whose active ingredients block UVA and UVB rays. The sun protective factor (SPF) should be a minimum of 15. Sunscreens should be used every day, including cloudy days. They should be applied liberally and evenly before going out into the sun. And they should be applied frequently, especially after swimming.

• Avoid tanning salons. Don’t believe all the beautiful Hollywoodish things you read and hear about tanning. Artificial UV radiation is just as bad for your skin as sunlight. Most tanning devices use UVA rays which have been shown to go deeper into the skin and contribute to premature wrinkling and skin cancer.

• Limit exposure to reflective surfaces like water. UV rays can be reflected off of sand, tile, water, and buildings. Even if you are in the shade, you mustn’t let your guard down.

Cool! Now, you’re ready for some summer fun.

* * *

Making green choices

The world marked World Consumer Rights Day last March 15 without fuss and muss. But according to Gigie Cruz of the EcoWaste Coalition’s Task Force on Plastics (gigie.gaia@no-burn.org), "In the Philippines, where rights are not always fully understood, and often taken for granted, it makes me wonder how many people are actually aware of their rights as consumers."

Are you aware that you have the right to basic necessities and services such as food, shelter, job, education, healthcare, water, sanitation, and public utilities? Other globally recognized rights as consumers include "our rights to be given the facts to make informed choices, to select from a range of quality and reasonably priced goods and services, to be protected against hazards to health or life, to be represented in policy as well as product development, to obtain consumer education, to get a fair resolution of just claims, and the right to live and work in a healthy and sustainable environment."

The Consumer Act of the Philippines and related laws and ordinances on environment and development seek to protect these rights as well as establish standards of conduct for business and industry.

But take note that "along with our consumer rights, we have parallel responsibilities to be vigilant in asserting these rights, to be critically aware of the price and quality as well as the social and environmental impacts of our choices, and to make consumption or non-consumption decisions to protect the welfare of marginalized sectors and the environment."

Gigie Cruz elaborates, "As March is also women’s month, I would like to cite the special role of women, particularly mothers, in making choices that are safe for the family’s health and the environment. Using the power of the purse, we can make a huge difference in building nature-loving families and neighborhoods and in developing a vibrant market for green choices."

Here are some down-to-earth, earth-friendly tips from EcoWaste:

• Reduce consumption. Always remember that ours is a finite planet. Ask yourself whether you need it or want it — there’s a whole world of difference between the two. Now, more than ever, resources are scarce, it’s time to simplify your lifestyle.

• Read the labels. Check out labels to get information on the ingredients or substances used. Make sure that you read product warnings, particularly on items like insect spray, batteries, paints, and other cleaning products with chemical ingredients. Labels also provide information on the product’s efficiency and durability.

• Be cautious. Be wary of products with cocktails of unknown and unsafe chemicals. Most of us think that cosmetic and hygienic products have been tested for safety; unfortunately, a large number of them still contain hazardous chemicals without our knowledge (check out www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep2/index.php for more information).

• Research. An informed choice will lessen one’s risk of exposure to unwanted chemicals/hazardous substances. This will also help us evaluate our impact on our environment.

• Watch the food you eat. 

1. Eat fresh, consume less canned food. Aside from containing lots of preservatives, canned food also has residues of a controversial chemical called bisphenol A (BP), according to a recent study made by Frederick vom Saal, PhD, a developmental biologist at the University of Missouri (www.thegreenguide.com).

2. Buy organically and locally grown food. 

3. Avoid eating meat-centered meals as much as you can, for both health and environmental reasons,

• Patronize products that are repairable, reusable, and recyclable. This holds true for simple stuff like paper, to high-tech gadgets like our cell phones and other appliances. Make sure that they were produced without toxic and other hazardous waste substances. Push for your favourite brands to practice take-back systems.

• Reuse that bag. Bring your reusable bags when shopping to avoid accumulating wastes. Or you can have your groceries placed in a box as an alternative.

Gigie gingerly adds, "There are lots of simple and practical steps that you can add to this list of green choices. As ours is a finite planet, we invite everyone to be mindful of the effects of our consumption decisions on the capacity of Mother Nature to feed and sustain our present and future generations."

Color your world green.

* * *

We’d love to hear from you. E-mail us at ching_alano@yahoo.com.