Sea Turtles vs Actual Human Beings: Who Will Win the Fight Over the Plastic Straw Ban?

For those of you who've hopped onboard with saving the environment thanks to the plastic straws ban, there's a lot that you aren't being told. First of all, straws do a lot less damage to the environment than you are being told. Second, and arguably the most important point, banning single use plastic straws takes a massive toll on disabled individuals. And no, the "environmentally friendly" alternative you are mentally suggesting is not an adequate alternative. Let's break this down.

First, if you don’t already know, here’s how the ban harms

the disabled community If you have any ounce of human decency, I shouldn't have to elaborate on this.

Second, if you haven't heard, the statement that we use over 500 million plastic straws per year came from a nine year old and has been proven to be a gross overstatement. I will elaborate on this, however.

Recent studies show that plastic straws only make up about 7.5% of plastic pollution. Food wrappers, plastic bottle caps, plastic bottles, and plastic bags create more plastic pollution individually than straws do; we've already learned that plastic bags are far more detrimental to the health and safety of our ocean life than straws are (page 6 of the linked document).

Plastic products such as food wrappers, balloons, and plastic bags pose a much larger threat to marine life because they look a lot like food - particularly jellyfish - to many marine animals.

"Fishing related items (buoys and rope, monofilament, nets) were the items that caused the most damage, given that an animal interacted with them... Balloons and plastic bags were expected to have the greatest ingestion impact, followed by monofilament line and plastic utensils. " (left column of page 3)

Here are some ways you can make a huge and positive impact on the environment without flat out banning things that disabled folks need, whether you like it or not:

PLASTIC WASTE REDUCTION

• Reusable Ziploc baggies

• Reusable water bottles

• Reusable shopping bags (stick with paper bags if you forget them at home)

• Bring your own straw IF YOU ARE ABLE TO

• Bring your own thermos to the coffee shop

• Those exfoliating beads in your face wash? That's plastic. Microplastics such as those make up more of the plastic pollution than you would think. They go down your drain and into the ocean because they don't break down and they're too small to filter out. Stick with natural scrubs.

• Ditch disposable period products! Stick with things like reusable cloth pads, reusable tampons (you can literally make them from an old tshirt and you're golden), or menstrual cups if you have the money to buy one. You can DIY cloth pads from cloth scraps and even old clothes! And DIY cloth tampons are so easy (and can help with cramps, just FYI)

FOOD WASTE REDUCTION

• Quit overshopping. Don't buy more than you (and the other people you shop for) can eat.

• Quit overserving. We have a bad habit of loading our plates up with more than we can eat. You can always go back for more guys.

• Storing food in the right places can keep it from spoiling so quickly.

• Declutter your fridge and pantry. You won't eat food you can't see.

• Compost!! This is a great way to make the most out of food waste. Obviously you can't compost everything, but you can compost a lot. Use this in your garden (and maybe grow some of your own produce to save some $$$)

LIFESTYLE CHANGES

• Eating more vegan and vegetarian meals can have a huge impact. You don't have to BE vegan or vegetarian, just eating a few more meals in that vein can make a difference. 70% of the grain we grow goes to feeding livestock. Livestock guzzle a lot of clean water too, so it has an impact on water conservation. It reduces the energy consumption that goes towards raising and caring for livestock.

• Take shorter showers guys, it's not that hard.

• Buy things second hand. Thrift stores, consignment shops, and vintage stores are more than trendy - they cut down on product consumption and waste AND they're more affordable. Buy used furniture when you can, same concept. Second hand bookstores are great too, you can find a ton of used books and textbooks at thriftbooks.com and at brick and mortar second hand book stores.

• Don't toss out clothes you don't want anymore. Sell them to second hand stores, consign them, sell them online, give them out to friends, donate them to a shelter, drop them at a thrift store. Don't throw them away!!!

PAPER WASTE REDUCTION

• Speaking of books, ebooks and audiobooks are a great way to cut down on paper waste. If you prefer physical books, libraries are awesome, and free so long as you turn your books in on time... just saying.

• Use both sides of the paper when you're printing, it cuts your printed paper waste in half guys. Super simple.

• Only print when you have to.

• Try to type your notes if you can. Unless you work and study best when you write by hand, try going digital if you haven't already.

• Use thinner paper when you print

• Reuse paper when you can

• If you get a lot of junk in the mail, there are ways to cut down on it! When you receive unsolicited promo products with that "Current Resident" crap, you can mark the envelope “Return to Sender” and put it back in the mail to stop receiving it.

• Use toilet paper made from recycled materials

• On a similar note, try to use products made from recycled materials

• Quit it with the paper towels and go with washable rags

• Don't throw away old books! Sell them to a second hand bookstore, donate them, do anything but throw them away.

• I really shouldn't have to remind y'all to recycle.....

I know that was really long, but that's the whole point. There's a ton of different things you can do (or not do in some cases) that can make a HUGE, positive impact on the environment, that don't have a HUGE and negative impact on disabled and poor folks. Not to mention a lot of the things I listed can save you money. You shouldn't have to ban something to hold yourself accountable!

If you still think that banning straws is a good idea, even after researching the damage it will do to the disabled community and all the other ways you can help the environment, then I encourage you to donate to any one (if not all) of these charities. If you still think that broke disabled folks should buy reusable straws that most of us cannot reasonably use? Help us afford it or donate to causes that might help us eliminate the symptoms that make them so necessary.

• Muscular Dystrophy

• Cerebral Palsy

• Spinal Cord Injuries

• Multiple Sclerosis

• Spina Bifida

• ALS

• Arthritis (General)

• Rheumatoid Arthritis and other Rheumatological Disorders

• Juvenile Arthritis

• Parkinson’s Disease

• Huntington’s Disease

• Essential Tremor

• Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders

• There are at least a dozen other causes of marked muscle weakness and loss/degeneration of fine motor skills including neurological disorders, nerve damage, stroke, and cancer (including damage done during treatment) so here are a few general research funds and charities to cover the rest

IMPORTANT NOTE: I took a lot of time to research all of the methods of conservation that I have listed here. I do not, however, have the time and expendable energy to link every single article I read to compile this exhaustive list. Google is free. If you see something here that you want to know more about, please google it. Do your own research folks, I did mine.