gotta admit the liberal paper straws really don't work
And I have to admit that Plastic Straws are a problem. But not for the oceans.
But for a number of reasons.
Number 1: THICC drinks.Okay, memes aside. Milkshakes and plastic straws are HELL. instead of sucking up milkshake you end up sucking up straw. Plastic Straws, disposable ones to me more exact, are awful for anything that isn't pure liquid. They're too thin and if anything gets stuck in them, Pffff. Holy forget what a stuffty design.
Number 2: Flex StrawsTwo show you the power of Flex Straws I sawed my dignity in half. Holy forget, flexable straws are REALLY, REALLY nice... except they only seem to be the same cheapo light plastic straws that are functionally stuff for thick drinks, but even worse. These straws break so freaking easy. If you get a hole in the straw anywhere on the flex, kiss your sucking power goodbye. These straws don't suck, and that's the problem.
Number 3: The next lead.No jokes... no memes. Plastic could be the next lead. If we're not careful we could end up in a very destructive situation, and it would happen without us even knowing it had happened. Everyone expects the end of the world to be nukes, war, meteors, environmental disasters, great big events with a immediate consequences. However, like most things, the worst types of destruction happen through erosion and not immediate destruction. If it happens too slow for you to even notice something is wrong, how can you even begin to fix it?
Plastic has been found inside other beings before, but as of last year, it has been found in people.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/22/microplastics-found-in-human-stools-for-the-first-timehttps://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/10/news-plastics-microplastics-human-feces/https://eos.org/articles/microplastics-found-in-human-stoolhttps://www.healthline.com/nutrition/microplasticsUnfortunately, it's too early to really tell if it will have negative effects. Some may even argue it's harmless, but I doubt it. Honestly, I bet the Romans believed the same thing.
While I think the "save the ocean" narrative is asinine, given how small straws are, I don't think the idea of abandoning plastic is that bad given the circumstances.
Straws are a start, but the options to replace plastic straws have been exotic and best and expensive at worst.
Restaurants should probably stick to Glass Straw/Cup combos, and that's an easy fix. But what about fast food and to go orders? You can't just give people a glass cup to go, atleast not now.
Paper is a really, really bad material for water. Maybe the solution is oiled paper to make the paper water resistant, or it might just be another disposable material. Bamboo makes liquids taste strange. But honestly the solution may be more simple than any of that. Remove the straw entirely.
Really, just make a lid, preferably a paper lid, and make it so has a hole just big enough for you to sip out of it. Great for liquid drinks. Milkshakes are unfortunately still a problem, i guess a bigger hole could work, but the lid + straw combo was supposed to avoid spills. But it's not really any more or less convenient.