As with a lot of Liberal do-gooder causes (like trying to ban paper bags in favor of plastic years back), there are unintended consequences. In the rush to feel good and wipe out the universe destroying plastic straws, they neglected to think about those who depend on them. People with disabilities use them not as a convenience, but as a way of staying alive in some cases. Using Liberal logic this makes the Liberals a bunch of ableists.
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/20 ... e-flexible
On social media, many people have responded to claims that people with disabilities need plastic straws by asking what people did before plastic straws were invented. "They aspirated liquid in their lungs, developed pneumonia and died," says Shaun Bickley, co-chair of the Seattle Commission for People with DisAbilities,
Ah. So it's not the biggest plastic problem, it just markets well with the public.In a post detailing how the plastic straw became the cause du jour for those who love the oceans, Dune Ives, executive director for the Lonely Whale Foundation, wrote, "We found plastic water bottles too endemic, plastic bags already somewhat politicized, and no viable alternative for the plastic cup in ALL markets." So they chose plastic straws, a "playful" alternative and a "'gateway plastic' to the larger and more serious plastic pollution conversation."
