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I'm left of center, and generally consider myself an enviornmentalist, or at least environmentally conscience. I personally decline a straw when offered, unless there is a reason to have one. I use steel straws in my covered cup at home.
All that being said, I think these laws are pretty stupid. I am all for awareness campaigns (which the anti-environmentalist on the right will mock anyway), and I am for people choosing to not use them. My gripe with this is that there are BIGGER issues to deal with than straws.
Our POTUS is pulling us out of Global treaties.
He's starting a tariff war
He's lying to us about NK (no longer a non-threat, now)
He's distracting us with his wife while GOP is taking away SS, Medicare, Medicaid
He's quietly pulling out of WTO
He's trying to get away with caging children like animals, and BLAMING DEMOCRATS
and on and on and on.
I think that in a time like this, passing laws and protesting about straws (STRAWS FFS!!!) is just playing into his hand. It's a distraction.
My message to fellow level-headed moderates: Let's focus on getting better people in Government. People we can trust to tell the truth. People we can trust with our safety and our future. THEN, let's get back to fine-tuning our efforts to save the planet. I'm not saying to turn a blind eye. I'm just saying that if we get bogged down in straws, this jack-whipe of a FAUXTUS is going to destroy us all while we're not looking.
OH how I long for the day when something like this even ranks at all as a serious problem (it is serious, just not in the context of what is going on around us right now).
Oh boy, now I'll probably get flamed from both sides.
If red cities and states want to embrace plastic everything, they should do it and simply avoid places like Seattle. That plastic ends up in our waterways such as Puget Sound where we have whales and sea otters. If Republicans controlled Puget Sound, that beautiful place would be absolutely destroyed with water as brown as the Gulf. No thank you.
If red cities and states want to embrace plastic everything, they should do it and simply avoid places like Seattle. That plastic ends up in our waterways such as Puget Sound where we have whales and sea otters. If Republicans controlled Puget Sound, that beautiful place would be absolutely destroyed with water as brown as the Gulf. No thank you.
Totally agree. All I'm saying is that if we don't pay attention to POTUS Liar in Chief, Puget sound (Beautiful, BTW) will be a moot point. He's doing a lot more damage to (not only) our environment with his agenda. Let's stop that FIRST, then get back to people being responsible stewards of our planet.
By fighting straws, we are metaphorically being penny wise and pound foolish (missing the big picture).
Totally agree. All I'm saying is that if we don't pay attention to POTUS Liar in Chief, Puget sound (Beautiful, BTW) will be a moot point. He's doing a lot more damage to (not only) our environment with his agenda. Let's stop that FIRST, then get back to people being responsible stewards of our planet.
By fighting straws, we are metaphorically being penny wise and pound foolish (missing the big picture).
I agree that Trump is destroying the country and that includes environmental laws. However Seattle is as blue as it gets. Trump got only 8% of the vote and Seattle is the one that passed the law against plastic straws. Paper straws are perfectly fine. Seattle has a vested interest in protecting its waters and environment. I don't see Seattle outlawing plastic straws in the south. They can go ahead and destroy their waters all they want and already do.
P.S. Thank you for spelling "moot" correctly; it's so rare.
There are biodegradable plastics, made from corn. I had some bowls made from this from some miso soup I bought a few times. After a year or so it cracked into pieces, fell apart and was completely gone in by the second year.
I've never seen plastic straws in the ocean but, I have seen syringes. Back in the 80's a barge dumped medical waste into the Atlantic near NY/NJ resulting in tampon applicators and syringes washing back into shore. The beaches in Sandy Hook were covered with them.
Plastic tampon applicators shouldn't even be a thing. I'm female, and no way in hell would I ever use plastic applicator tampons. The applicators never decompose. AND speaking as a coastal resident, we do indeed see them wash ashore.
Just in time for the 4th of July, from Reef...
Quote:
"GEARING UP FOR THE 4TH OF JULY? THE 4TH OF JULY IS A DAY TO CELEBRATE AND GET TOGETHER WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS AT BBQS, PARTIES AND SUMMER OUTINGS. THE PART THAT IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED IS THAT SOMEONE HAS TO CLEANUP THE AFTER-PARTY.
JULY 5TH IS THE DIRTIEST DAY OF THE YEAR ACROSS ALL US BEACHES. ON THIS DAY, HUMANITY ADDS TO THE ESTIMATED 5-13 MILLION TONS OF PLASTIC ENTERING OUR OCEANS EACH YEAR. BUT DON’T STRESS. WE ALL WANT TO BBQ AND #BEACHFREELY ON THE 4TH, SO HERE’S SOME WAYS TO DO THAT RESPONSIBLY..."
There are biodegradable plastics, made from corn. I had some bowls made from this from some miso soup I bought a few times. After a year or so it cracked into pieces, fell apart and was completely gone in by the second year.
I have a dog. I use biodegradable poop bags to clean up after her. They're pretty flimsy (so they'll biodegrade quickly) but they get the job done.
There are biodegradable plastics, made from corn. I had some bowls made from this from some miso soup I bought a few times. After a year or so it cracked into pieces, fell apart and was completely gone in by the second year.
They're pretty good, but you do have to know how to dispose of them. They're best disposed of in specific composting centers where they can be composted appropriately.
There are plenty of viable options to replace plastic straws. You seem upset. You'll likely recover, in due time.
As usual, lefty CD mental telepathy malfunctions. Nowhere did I say that this was a problem for me. A)I don't live in Seattle, and visit there once per year at most, to run the Seattle marathon. I don't like having my vehicle broken into. B)I can't even remember the last time I used a straw. I drink mostly water from my Nathan water bottle, straight from the nipple!!
As usual, lefty CDer fails to appreciate the irony (read: abject stupidity) of the syringe/straw juxtaposition.
If red cities and states want to embrace plastic everything, they should do it and simply avoid places like Seattle. That plastic ends up in our waterways such as Puget Sound where we have whales and sea otters. If Republicans controlled Puget Sound, that beautiful place would be absolutely destroyed with water as brown as the Gulf. No thank you.
Most of the US is now Republican-controlled. If you add up governors, state legislative bodies, US House, Senate, and WH, it is exactly one shy of a 2-1 margin for the GOP.
I have not heard of any brown waters across the country. I have heard that there is a brown street outside of the King County Courthouse in Seattle, due to defecation. They have to power-wash it 3 times a week, which goes down the storm drains and into the Puget Sound.
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