Paper straws are just an example to look into the bigger issue of climate mitigation. Governments, media and corporations make us believe that small things can help change our planet. However, this actually diverts our attention away from the real way that has the ability to aid the climate. Multi-national de coupling of carbon from the economy is undesirable as businesses need manufacture and pollution to maintain profit, and therefore, they use gimmicks like paper straws as a veil to cover the continuing denial of the need to change on an international economic scale. Large scale attention is placed on issues like plastic in the seas, which in its own right is a huge problem, to divert attention away from the more pressing ones which would have adverse effects for the economy. These issues are more charismatic and appeal more to people to make change, and therefore the other major issues such as climate change continue to go on and enable large corporations. Until carbon and manufacturing is detached from profit and economies, society will continue to be led into a false sense of achieving change, when all it is really doing is acting as a pacifier to stop us from feeling we are doing nothing.
What people also don’t realise is that changes such as paper straws also have their downfalls which are being completely ignored since we are so blinded by the influx of media surrounding more charismatic issues such as saving the turtles.
-
Does anyone realise that paper straws are actually made by cutting down trees, one of the only resources that absorbs carbon dioxide and has the ability to help slow climate change? Even if we save the turtles by cutting down on plastic, they are actually still in danger as climate change leads to the degradation of their habitats and thus this change, at the end of the day will have little impact either way.
-
The manufacture of paper straws contributes to the production of carbon dioxide, again leading to the degradation of environments.
-
As with plastic straws, paper straws are also single use, contributing to the large amount of waste being produced by society.
-
Single use items mean the demand for distribution is high, and this increasing transportation and Co2 emissions.
-
Paper straws are just another way for companies to continue making profit out of degrading the environment, ironically out of our sincere need to change the environment for the better.
What can we do to help?
The most important thing is to be aware of these issues and deconstruct what we are led to believe. We need to look beyond the superficial hype of things like paper straws as this is where the real issue lies. With this realisation, we then need to continue putting pressure on large corporations and governments to decouple carbon from the economy. If there is no market for their production, then there is no other choice but for them to find other ways to make their money. The problem is that one person doing this is not going to make a difference, and it will be a long time until the whole of society reaches this realisation as gimmicks such as paper straws are being used as ways to lull us into a false sense of security. We should not focus on single issues but instead see individual ideas as part of an interlocking web that is nearly impossible to untangle.