What if 7.6 billion people...?
I hate to say it... but we are an average American family when it comes to consuming. Sure, we recycle. But isn’t recycling just what you do? It’s not the exception any longer, it’s the rule.
We want to be better stewards to this planet. We are constantly self critiquing our shopping habits to find ways to improve. One of the ways we do this, is to ask ourselves the question, “what if 7.6 billion people did it?”
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Our latest question involves single use plastic. Plastic straws specifically. Who doesn’t love drinking their favorite beverage from a straw? I love the curly➿straws! Unfortunately, plastic straws are getting a lot of bad press, and for good reason.
According to www.ecocycle.org, the U.S. uses, and disposes of, 500 million straws/day, and that’s a low end estimate. Yikes! To put that into perspective, that’s 127 school buses full of straws, EVERYDAY!
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What if 7.6 billion people used one plastic straw everyday? My brilliant homeschool kiddos mathed it out for us, with a little help from me. Here are the highlights:
• 7.6 billion straws = 1,930 buses/day
• 1,930 buses = approx. 32 acres of land/day. 11,644 acres/year.
• 11,644 acres = 8,625 football fields/year.
Holy cow! So, we obviously came to the conclusion that using single use plastic straws is a terrible idea. Now, we must take action! I have a bag of straws in my kitchen (pictured above). Do I just throw them away now? I vote no. Either way, they have been produced, bought and will end up in a bus somewhere! 😆 So I believe it’s best to at least use them. I have promised myself and my planet that I will not purchase any more straws. No more straws for Jeff either!
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I love how this question puts things into perspective. My one or two straws/day seems like no big deal... until you see what it looks like magnified for the entire planet! Obviously, not every human is using straws. Many humans on this planet don’t even know where their next meal is coming from. We have much progress to make. Start where you can. All our tiny deeds add up to big change!
”Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.” ~ Margaret Mead
Thank you for reading along with my Pretty Dorky perspective.
I’m off to drink my protein shake like a big girl... with no straw.
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Thank you for this fantastic post :) Both for advocating reducing the use of plastic (or specifically straws) AND for prompting us to make small changes for huge impacts. :) I am on a straw mission myself, refusing to buy a pack of straws for my kids. But I did tell them, I'd buy them a pack of straws made out of a thicker plastic. They had to promise not to chew the ends, so we could reuse them again and again. Now we've used them for a couple of months, but I make sure I rinse them properly in hot soapy water immediately after using them. Kids are happy, I am happy, and hopefully planet is happiER. :)
Hi! So glad you enjoyed it. Kids and their straws! That’s why I started buying them too... so my kids wouldn’t spill every dang thing! We also had those thicker straws for awhile. The ends of course got chewed and maybe Mommy had a lazy day and didn’t wash them... yucky! Haha! Cheers to us making progress! 😉
I am going to throw these straks out of My house and Thats a start I did not now this ThAnx
Crazy how it adds up huh? Glad you enjoyed it, thank you! 😊
Great post pointing out a simple thing we can do to help our environment. We all have a part to do in sustaining this world of ours. Why not start by having a big boy/girl's drink without a straw?
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We live in a society where we are not confronted with the results of our behaviour. Every week, someome is taking our trash, and if we stop thinking there, our problem has been solved. We don’t question how much we produce, or even where it is going. Our society doesn’t want us to. Because if we would be able to see these results of our behaviour, the entire consumption society would be in danger. They wánt us to keep buying and to keep throwing away, so they can keep producing.
And now saving the planet has become a money-making game too...
I don’t even want to know where we are heading...
Yes, out of sight, out of mind. Time for us to make a big shift in values! So much value put on money and profit. I’m ready for humans to value each other and our planet. 💓 It’s happening. Don’t despair, everything will work out! 🙏🏻 And yes, we will use the straws with much appreciation until they are gone.
Btw, on the straws: use them, or even better: let Jeff use them, they will last for a long time ;0)
We have the faulty idea that our trash just disappears when we throw it away. Due to the fact corporate America is the biggest polluter. Americans take the blame. If we stopped buying them they would listen.
Agreed! Vote with your wallet! We can take it a step further now, with crypto... it’s not just WHERE you shop or WHAT you buy... but HOW you buy it.
Definitely. Don’t use Ceasers currency then you don’t have to render to Caeser if you know what I mean.
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😊 thank you! I absolutely will follow and support others doing their part. Very inspiring. 🌎
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Did the protein shake come in a glass bottle or a plastic one, or is it something you need to mix from a powder? I wonder if anyone has thought about the carbon sequestration value of straws?
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Thank you @bashadow! I love all the support I’ve received from #newbieresteemday. Good people! To answer your question, it’s a powdered mix that comes in a biodegradable packet. Good question about sequestering, I’ll have to research that one.
nice post! This is a great message - if we all do our small part we really do make a huge difference! Perhaps we could petition straw makers to make them out of biodegradable materials instead of poison plastics !
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Well to be fair, they do make compostable paper straws. But have you tried them?! Lol 😬😝 it’s like a dry paper towel on your lips and tongue! Icky! Haha!
😂😂 I didn't know that but it does sound icky!
reduce/reuse/recycle
great post!
Thank you! ☺️
I love this article and how you and your kids made the math on how it impacts our environment.
It might not look much but it starts with us, with one household thinking of making a difference.
Do we want to leave a planet that is uninhabitable to our children and grandchildren all because we want some tiny measure of comfort? Or do we start caring for our environment on the only planet we can live in.
I would definitely like to leave this planet better than I found it. 🌎