It drives me crazy, this performative enviornmentalist bullshit. I have to pay 10c (on top of 300% food cost increase don’t forget) for a plastic bag at the grocery when i forget my canvas ones. In these bags i must pay for i can place fruit individually wrapped in plastic.
Every time something gets worse, we must be the ones to pay. This whole environment-saving-by-paper-straw phenomenon is so insipid that I would rather believe that it’s actually a deliberate corporate strategy. At least that would make sense. If they keep us thinking that something is being done, they don’t have to change a thing, and if it’s “all of our jobs” (read: not theirs), to save the world, we’ll never take them to task for their (greater) part of the waste.
Nothing beats collection of beer/cola can’s pull tabs for recycling competition at schools. That forces children to ask parents to buy more of the six packs so that they could have the tabs.
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oh god I never even thought about that. my childhood is ruined, thanks 🥲
You’re treating it like a hypothetical but that is in fact exactly what’s going on.
Corporations and the politicians they own are hyperfocused on (relativee to centralised) inefficient end user recycling and regular people taking responsibility for the environment and climate change to distract from the fact that maybe 95%+ of it are the fault of corporations, not their customers.
Even consumer waste is many times worse than it would be if companies didn’t for example use all that plastic and design electronics to become obsolete if functional at all in as little as a single year just to squeeze as much money out while spending as little as possible.
I would rather believe that it’s actually a deliberate corporate strategy.
as is almost all suffering under capitalism - it is indeed a feature, not a bug
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/30/capitalism-is-killing-the-planet-its-time-to-stop-buying-into-our-own-destructionIt is actually a deliberate corp strategy. Plastic straws were never a real concern, save for that ONE turtle. Plastic straw make such a negligible amount of plastic waste that stop using it will have virtually zero measurable impact in amount of plastic waste we create. All it ever was intended for was to make us feel like something was being done while doing absolutely nothing.
That’s not to say all plastic reduction initiatives are pointless. But the straws definitely belong in the least environmentally impactful category.
All it ever was intended for was to make us feel like something was being done while doing absolutely nothing.
It certainly does help a little bit. But it’s of course still not a coincidence that companies are pushing for it instead of more effective measures… It’s not just cheap but it also pushes people to believe that measures to save the environment are all useless and annoying, and makes them less likely to want more to happen.
It’s the “thoughts and prayers” of environmentalism. I’m convinced the net effect is negative after you factor in the way it distracts people from anything that might actually help.
Let’s not forget tht half the time they’re individually wrapped… in plastic.
Can we use Lemmy to figure out what should be done, push for that change, and bring plastic straws back?
Fund a grassroots media campaign advocating to make corporations pay to fix the environment and for price control laws to stop them passing on costs to the consumer.
At some point, people are going to have to accept their legal systems have been completely broken by regulatory capture and that they’re going to have to go to war to implement new governments that actually will do what the people want them to do. That’s the real talk that needs to happen
Companies already buy “carbon offsets” or whatever that shitbis called - essentially, they pay money to another businnes, one that is supposed to somehow help the planet and the carbon dioxide increase, and then they just call it a day and slap some stickers on their stuff saying it’s all eco-friendly.
Big players have been at it for a long time to cover themselves from way more angles than we can think of. :(
This is also what many countries do to achieve their emission reduction targets.
What’s worse is we haven’t replaced plastic straws with a good alternative. Paper straws fucking blow and I’m not going to carry around and wash a silicon straw with me at all times.
*Silicone. Silicone is rubber, silicon is a crystal.
Maybe MeatsOfRage is just really fancy? 😁
I mean, one alternative that you are carrying around at all times is your mouth. It’s very rare that a straw is needed at all.
They had acrylic straws back in the 80s FFS, this isn’t hard.
Or you could just not use a straw, only babies need them.
yeah anytime i see anyone talking about some little change they made in their lives to be more eco friendly it makes me incredibly, deeply sad. especially if it’s at more expense or more effort for them – they’re trying their best but it’s literally completely pointless
It isn’t pointless, it’s our thinkings that makes it pointless. “It wouldn’t do much if it’s just me living eco friendly”, yes it doesn’t do much since alot of people thinks the same, and that leads to no progress.
Many of us do it for sport tbh. A healthier way to gamify life sorta. I’ve been vegan since 2015/16 and it does increase the difficulty setting somewhat, but also it’s unlocked a million fun mini games for me along the way and provided much needed community.
I wish I could cope as good as you. Is going vegan the answer?
Give it a shot, can’t hurt. You won’t become Buddha overnight, but it can certainly put you on a path toward much different ways of seeing yourself and everything around you.
Even if it isn’t you could use the same approach in many other ways. Increase game difficulty by giving yourself bonus objectives. I gamify life quite a lot to do the boring stuff and try to be healthy. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to keep it up.
Reducing your meat consumption is likely the most effective way of lowering your personal climate ‘footprint’.
You don’t even have to go fully vegan. Use 20%, 30% or 50% less meat and you’re already doing a lot.
Also look up climate impact of different types of food (and where it comes from), and use that to prioritize. Chicken, fish and pork are up to 10 times less impactful than beef.
You don’t even have to go vegan. You can just go vegetarian.
It’s also extremely effective. Seems like people just forget it exists.
I’m vegetarian mostly to save money but if someone gifts me meat? I won’t be wasting it.
But think of the bees!
People who know nothing about beekeeping and the fact that it is important to preserving the endangered species that are bees:
I have been told by many vegans that honey and sugar are not allowed, as they are both animal products. Apparently sugar is refined by using cattle bones. They told me you can use agave nectar instead.
Reducing your meat consumption is likely the most effective way of lowering your personal climate ‘footprint’.
I hear this a lot, but I think the context of what other actions are available and their relative impact is important in this kind of discussion.
Of course, this is all with the knowledge that trying to put the onus of fixing climate change on the individual is both doomed to fail and a great burden for many. Climate change can only be properly addressed by top-down action, which we should all advocate for.
7/11 isn’t bad.
What’s the difference between “Switch electric car to car free” and “Live car free”? The latter presumes a petrol car?
How would “kill yourself” rate on this chart? Depends on how old you are, I suppose.
Too bad they crammed hard malthusianism at the end of the graph.
Vegans really need to embrace this strategy. Reduce meat consumption is a much easier sell to the majority of the world, and it would open them up to the idea that vegetables can make a complete meal.
Too many vegans I know try to get you to buy into their lifestyle from the start. Bruh, I’m an American and I can tell you from personal experience that most Americans, especially down here in the south, do not consider something a meal unless it has meat in it. You are not going to convince these people to stop eating burgers straight up. This is a cultural thing that isn’t going to be easy to change. Going full vegan is a deal breaker. Cutting back on meat for your personal health might just gain some traction.
Labeling this as “cope” is just straight slander against vegetarianism. Most people who are vegetarian don’t expect “it’s going to change the world” so there’s no “coping” to be had with the fact that it’s not.
Vegetarianism choices can be based in health, ethics, not wanting to support mega corps, dislike of the taste, environmental impact, among other things. “it’s going to save us from climate change in light of everything else going on in the world” is a tiny clueless subset of just ONE of those rationales.
Vegeterianism isn’t “hopeless” or “cope” unless you’re delusional enough to believe that everyone doing so would instantly solve our problems. Sure, some people think if everyone did it, it would make a difference, but very few think it’d fix all our problems.
It’s absolutely not helpless to change your habits. All our consumption is based on collective habits, and changing them will have an effect.
Exactly. It’s only pointless as long as other people think it’s pointless. If everyone made changes we could see a noticable impact happen.
Billionaires need to change too, they do more than their fair share of polluting, but it doesn’t mean we are all off the hook. We should hold them accountable and also each of us strive to be better.
For some things, yes. The straw thing, no. If we snapped our fingers and made straws disappear, the effect on the world will be negligible.
What if that small change In made was assasinating billionaires (sorry, PragerU, people with means) in my spare time instead of just playing Hitman?
huh, I guess small changes can improve society
It makes me deeply sad that assholes like you spread the message that we shouldn’t try to be better people.
Does one person saying that they voted for change in the government make you incredibly, deeply sad? Just one vote in millions after all. Little things can collectively add up to something big.
Exactly. And just because those that can have the most impact refuse to do so, doesn’t mean the rest of us shouldn’t try.
Apple: We’re changing everyone’s charging schedules to make electricity 0.00001% greener.
Also Apple: Titanium, so pretty. Even though it’s dirtier to mine.
Again Apple: We’re making everything irrepairable.
Apple: “Look, we made an ad with a woman depicting mother nature. Look at how self-aware and quirky we are.”
Me: (writes a short fanfic of mother nature beating Tim Cook up so bad, it might look like a Family Guy cutaway)
Can we stfu about the straws? We get it, wah wah
I don’t really care but when Wendy’s got paper straws and then replace all the paper cups with thick plastic cups right after it’s clear company’s are doing it just to pretend they care about the environment.
boohoo i’m being forced to use a plastic straw after polluting too much
its not my fault its the billionaires who got rich off the industries i support
sadfasfasdf
I disagree that this is a right wing talking point, but whether it is or not is irrelevant. If it’s a problem, it’s a problem. There is no “buying into it.”
It’s a genuine problem that billionaires create literally ONE MILLION times more carbon footprint than 90% of the people. https://www.npr.org/2022/11/09/1135446721/billionaires-carbon-dioxide-emissions
asdfasfsdaf
change the first line to ‘happily using a non-plastic straw to help the environment’ then this meme will improve 1000x
Nobody is happy about this shit
Pasta straws in italy are pretty cool tho
This resonates hard. Also incredibly fun to watch companies get to abuse loop holes and continue operations as always, then get told we need to sell our cars and turn off our heating to survive this environmental disaster.
Stainless steel straws for the win.
I don’t use straws at all, but this isn’t really the point. There are much more impactful ways to reduce your carbon footprint like biking, walking, public transport, but all this pales in comparison in the massive environmental pollutions that billionaires and corporations do to our waterways and air.
I like using straws, and stainless is a really pleasant straw experience ; you can slurp up really thick smoothies, for example.
I’m hyping stainless for the experience.
I feel like this is a whoosh. The environmental impact of our collective straw use is so insignificant compared to the effects of so many other things. The fact that people focus on straws is just evidence that the average person has no idea what to do, in order to decrease their environmental impact and will also complain about the mildest of inconveniences.
Think it’s moreso evidence that the propaganda machine works
Bruh didn’t you see above you that the chick can suck off a mean thick smoothie??
I keep mine in the car
I prefer gravity straws. You just put the cup above your head and tilt the cup for the drink to pour in a straight line to your mouth.
It all depends on what you people want. Do you want lower carbon emissions? Literally change your whole life and consuming habits. Do you want less warm climate m industrialize as fuck to create giant satellite mirrors to stop light from reaching earth. And so on
Let’s just start literally cannibalizing them to send a message. The population is hungry 🍴
I’ll fire up the spit!
You’re going to need another set of landing gear if your hull strength is going to survive the next grav jump buddy
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You’re talking about two different ways to screw the environment. One is the rampant plastics pandemic, the other is carbon emissions. Paper straws are meant to combat the first, not the second.
While that’s true, I think the complaint here is that the the law deliberately harms poor people only. Instead of banning individual plastic applications, we should be taxing literally all plastics and letting consumers decide what’s worth it. And if we are to take a case-by-case class warfare approach, we should be going after the excesses of the wealthy - like private jets.
It’s not that they’re the same thing, it’s that they both hurt the environment and are treated very differently.
Wait till they find out what plastic is made out of and how that impacts carbon emissions.
Downvote this man and his factual statement!!!
The popular comments are all about how recycling is a scam to allow plastic companies to continue creating plastics.
But mushy straws isn’t even about recycling. You’re literally removing a plastic that people use all the time. Sounds like a win no matter what.
My number one pet peeve:
hey here’s one some concession we can do to make the planet slightly better.
Most people in the US:
if it doesn’t t solve all of our problems 100% I’m not going to think about doing so. What it only makes life slightly better for us? Nope fuck that it means I have to be slightly inconvenienced for it, I’m not willing to do that. Come back when it’ll fix everything 100% and then I’ll find more excuses to why I don’t have to change.
Where do these mushy straws reside? I’m not one to get fast food or go to restaurants very often but it’s always plastic.
Paper straws are everywhere where I live I’ve also seen sugar cane and pasta stir sticks.
In my area I can sometimes find these light blue colored ones that are super rigid, I think they’re made of agave? Regardless of the material, I think they’re actually just better than plastic for once.
A lot of the new plastic straws are compostable where I live.
Yup, sugarcane plastic
Seattle
A couppe years ago, there was a big craze around paper straws.
Canada
In California. I carry around a silicone straw all the time now because I want a straw that fucking works at being a straw.
I don’t even want a straw, I prefer drinking from the side of the cup and save the environment even a little more bringing my own fave cup and asking for no straw!
And yes, billionaires really do go brrr while I do all this
