9 ways to spend an environmentally friendly day at the beach

Some of the most beautiful things in life are the most fragile. Case in point: beaches.

Earth Day may be behind us, but taking care of the planet is a year-round job. Here are nine ways we can avoid becoming the garbage generation who ruined beaches forever:

1. Don't leave behind trash.

Even though this may seem obvious, it bears repeating: The sands of time will not forget garbage — or garbage people. 

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

The world does not need any more photographs of baby seals entangled in plastic six pack rings.

Even the innocuous-seeming detritus is deadly. Cigarette butts — 21% of all debris collected from beaches — contain carcinogens and chemicals that are too often ingested by animals. 

2. Don't walk on sand dunes.

Dunes are one of the few things protecting the beach from erosion. Walking on them ruins everything.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

And don't pick the beach grass. No one but a two-year-old or a sincerely and profoundly garbage person could consider this fun.

3. Pets can ruin the beach, too.

A day at the beach with a dog and a frisbee sounds like fun — until he eats a jellyfish.

But more importantly, and more commonly, pet poop can quickly become a bacterial pollutant that will slowly eat away at everything around it. Pretty shitty.

4. Don't collect shells. 

Taking shells from the beach contributes to increased erosion and a decrease in the "diversity and abundance of animals and plants that depend on shells," according to Smithsonian Magazine. 

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

5. Check boats for leaks.

Water pollution ruins ecosystems, kills animals and makes water unsafe for swimming, thus ruining the beach for every single species out there in one fell swoop.

For people who have a boat, the best plan of approach is to ensure that the boat is ready for the open seas and will not leak out any fuel. 

6. Don't touch the wild animals.

Wild animals are wild. Meaning not domesticated. Meaning leave them alone.

7. Use biodegradable sunscreen.

Oxybenzone, a common chemical in sunscreen, exacerbates coral bleaching and causes DNA damage to coral. 

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Although, yes, the coral reefs are facing far larger dangers than sunscreen, why make things worse than they already are?

8. Don't put garbage into the sewer system.

When chemical pesticides, paint, oil, cosmetics, chemical cleaners or expired medication get flushed away, they quickly make their way into the local watershed. And then it's only a matter of time until they make their way into streams, rivers, lakes and oceans.

This is why we can't have nice things.

9. Leave the beach cleaner than you left it.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Do the beach a solid.

Pick up garbage when you see it, and contact environmental groups in your area to find out about clean-up and planting days.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.