The Deadly Straw

“It is possible - indeed, it is likely - that, unless there is a great change in the near future, disaster will follow. And it will be a disaster of which man himself will be not only the perpetrator, but also one of the victims.”― Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Life and Death in a Coral Sea

Some days ago, I posted my thoughts on the use of plastic straws.  I also invited you to stop using them, and join with me in an effort to rid the oceans and our landfills from a few of these useless items.  The more I study about the use of straws, and the damage they do, the more pathetic and sad I feel.  How is it that when we sit down at a restaurant, straws are thrown at us?  We don’t ask for them; they are put before use as if they are an extension of the server’s greeting to us.

“Welcome to the restaurant, have a straw.”

They are offered and accepted without thought.  Most of us don’t need them, and yet, we take them, and in many cases use them, never once considering the end result of our actions.  They are a single use, non-recyclable, non-biodegradable excess and meaningless item, that we never use at our homes, just when we go out to eat.

Ever wonder when we started using straws?  The first society to do such was the Sumerians in 3000 BC.  They made beer in large vats that were too heavy to lift and long straws allowed those who consumed the beverage to sit on the floor and enjoy. The first paper straw was invented by Marvin Stone in 1888.  The plastic straw first showed up in the 1960’s, thanks to the rise of fast-food restaurants.  Just a point to think about, but every straw made since that time, still exists today.  Straws are lost, buried, hidden, trashed, sunk, but they never go away.

We, as stewards of the earth we have the responsibility to take better care of this planet.  This is too important to leave to governments or big business; they will only mess up the process.  This world was created and given to us by our creator.  It is time we took better care of it.

I find it not only criminal, but sinful that by next year, 2025, one quarter of what is swimming in our oceans will be plastics and much of that will be the straws we use once and then throw away.  Will you just take a moment and visualize, three pounds of fish, on a scale, balanced by a pound of plastic.  We can sit back, shake our heads, wring our hands and blame others, or we can do what is, not only needed, but required, and that is take a stand.

I received a good amount of feedback from my earlier post about the straws and most of it was positive, some admitted never having thought about the situation before, and there was a fraction of kick back from a few.

I have a friend, a good friend.  He and I dive together, as well as hangout on dry land.  He’s one of the most experienced and knowledgeable divers I know and he has taught me a lot.  I won’t tell you his name, but we can call him Jack, as in “Jack Ass”.  He thought it was funny to respond to my posting of the straws killing turtles comment with the following pic and the statement, “F*** them turtles.” I have a sense of humor, but I did not find his comments funny. Sea turtles are being killed.

Jack, for all the time he spends underwater, and all the debris he has seen in the water and on the bottom of lakes and rivers, we have dived in, he sees no reason to get involved with any effort to change peoples’ minds and attitudes.  In fact, he like to belittle and tease me.  Jack is not an Ass because he doesn’t agree with me, no, he is an Ass because he never stops to realize that he influences others and his only choice is in what way or attitude he chooses to do so.  I, sometimes think how powerful of advocate he could be.  It would be easy to say, “in time” but we, the world, our home, is running out of time.

Much like a group of kids paying sandlot baseball, it is time to take a stand and choose a side.  Will you be a protector, or will you be only a destroyer? 

Choose wisely, the planet is depending on you.