In 2015 a horrific image of a turtle getting a plastic straw pulled out of his nose shocked the internet and sent users into a tailspin. The image and video of the rescuers pulling the straw out of the poor animal’s nose led to a crusade to “save the turtles.” This image arguably did more for animal conservation and the environmental crisis than most internet campaigns in recent years. Ever since then, I’m sure you have noticed that the majority of restaurants either do not offer you a plastic straw or hand you a paper one instead. I even remember one of the first times I came from Texas to California I asked the waitress at a restaurant for a straw and she looked me directly in the eye and said, “are you sure?” I then ended up declining the straw. This horrific image helped bring much needed awareness to the amount of waste and plastic in our oceans.
While this graphic image put a visual to the crisis the turtles are facing, it did not do nearly as much as one would hope. Plastic straws, although bad for the environment, do not make up the majority of the plastic floating around in the ocean harming marine life. After the picture surfaced, people were still using plastic water bottles, plastic food packaging, and plastic bags which harm marine life every single day. Many pictures have also surfaced of ocean animals turning up dead after being strangled by the plastic rings from soda cans. Restaurants and establishments like Starbucks and other fast-food restaurants continuously use large amounts of non-compostable plastic and the government still does regulate it. The only way for this problem to stop is by getting world governments involved.
I personally try my best to use as little single-use plastic as possible. I don’t drink from plastic water bottles and I always use reusable or paper straws. However, my personal choices will not make much of an impact if the world’s governments do not intervene to stop the mass consumption of plastic products. Each and every person has a role to play in the pollution of our oceans and the only way to better the lives of the species that live in the ocean is to implement laws that will force large establishments to change their ways. Hopefully we don’t have to see more horrific injuries to animals like that turtle before real change is enacted.
This photo definitely shows the power of art to inspire change. I think the decrease in plastic straw usage has been a huge victory for the environment and we must use this same momentum to slowly ban other types of unnecessary plastic items.
This topic came up in one of my classes recently for this exact reason, how vitality and consumer demand has lead to more conservation efforts than government regulations. My professor brought up how now, grocery stores have begun to offer paper bags but ALSO offer plastic bags that are thicker. Under the impression that they are reusable? I’m not sure. She argued that if you’re going to make plastic bags, keep them as thin as possible. I do think we’ve seen a positive trend away from plastic water bottles. I, for one, am always carrying around my reusable bottle and I’ve noticed so many fountains popping up in schools and airports. Interestingly not at all outside of the US. But,…
I totally remember the first time I saw this picture and the reaction I felt to it. It is good to see how media bringing awareness to issues can cause some positive change, and I agree that there is still a lot to be done in order to remove the overwhelming amount of plastic in our oceans. I hope to see improvement and introduction of new laws with less environmentally harming items used in our everyday lives.
This has been an ongoing issue for years. It is so sad to see humans continuing to use plastic in any circumstance especially after reading this post and visualizing these animals' deaths and pain. However, in recent years I think the addition of paper straws in many businesses is showing an initial means for change. I do agree with you saying that is it the government who needs to intervene in order to stop the mass consumption of plastic because we single-handily as citizens cannot do it all on our own.
Use of plastic is a very important issue to look at and I really enjoyed reading your blog post. The plastic straw phenomenon is a big one and I think you did a really good job of explaining that there is so much more single use plastic beyond plastic straws. Really interesting and crucial topic you covered!