Once again I’m at the beach with my kids and extended family, typing the names of all our sunscreens into Environmental Working Group’s Sunscreen Guide. I neglected to take my own advice from last summer and bought a bunch of bottles, tubes and sticks of protective lotions, potions and gels — without checking the ingredients.

I’m writing this from a sun-drenched island in South Georgia. At the moment, I’m inside, hiding from the midday sun, yet I’m still gooey with sunscreen. Sunscreen that I recently discovered might cause cancer — not prevent it.