Current Events > What's your opinion of plastic straw bans?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I'm not against it in principle but seriously paper straws are terrible. My loss in consumer surplus isn't worth the whatever marginal protection to the ocean happens
---

I've seen too many memes congratulating places like California banning the straws but the image showing piles of garbage and homeless people...

Im sure theres 1000s of other more important plastic to ban before plastic straws, but its a start

mans yeah paper straws suck bad

---

It's a good start.
---

Paper straws are terrible
---

Heard that Finnish scientists have found a good natural alternative made by spiderweb and wood.
https://scitechdaily.com/amazing-new-material-combines-wood-fibers-and-spider-silk/
---

A feel good initiative that doesn't actually have a big impact on the environment.

I never use straws though so I don't really care either way.

Handguns cause 40 times more deaths in sea lions than plastic straws.

Have restaurants fucking thought about that?

---

iPhone_7 posted...

Paper straws are terrible

---

Misguided feelgoodism.

A decent start that might help ease people into a conservationist mindset. The 'fuck you muh freedum' types seem to be the outliers in this case; my family's quite staunchly conservative often to the point of contrarianism, but they took to refusing straws at restaurants without any pushback.
---

masterpug53 posted...

A decent start that might help ease people into a conservationist mindset. The 'fuck you muh freedum' types seem to be the outliers in this case; my family's quite staunchly conservative often to the point of contrarianism, but they took to refusing straws at restaurants without any pushback.

huh, i'm like the opposite. usually liberal but i hate the plastic straw ban.

paper straws turn to mush in like 5 minutes
---

go green!

Utterly ridiculous. The political and hollywood elite can fly around on private jets and us joe schmoes aren't allowed to use a plastic straw? Not to mention all the electricity they use to power their mansions...

Give me a break.
---

just another example of a problem being created by corporations and the solution being pushed on to joe public, rather than the former taking responsibility
---

As long as there is a proper substitute. I vote we turn all cups into sippy cups.

TwoDoorPunkCab posted...

just another example of a problem being created by corporations and the solution being pushed on to joe public, rather than the former taking responsibility

...whut

Back when I was a kid, we had paper bags at the grocery store. Then there was a bug push to use "environmentally friendly" plastic bags.

Now they just banned plastic bags and reintroduced paper bags. Fuck this trendy faux environmentalism.
---

Im skeptical of any conservation initiative that begins in the consumer space.

If plastic straws were actually seen as a problem they would ban the sale or production of them in their state, period. It wouldnt be limited to restaurants and such.

It speaks to either a distressing level of obliviousness (that they think this is a noteworthy step), or to their incompetence (that this is the best they could do).

But I could be wrong. Im willing to be wrong. But Im skeptical.
---

pogo_rabid posted...

Back when I was a kid, we had paper bags at the grocery store. Then there was a bug push to use "environmentally friendly" plastic bags.

Now they just banned plastic bags and reintroduced paper bags. Fuck this trendy faux environmentalism.

yup. Though I'm glad paper bags are coming back. I've missed them so!
---

I've never had an issue with paper straws, but I don't understand why restaurants that use metal cutlery haven't just invested in metal straws by now. I saw some sort of corn product straw over a decades ago that didn't biodegrade well, but surely woodpulp or whatever could be formulated into something good.

The disability community says they need plastic ones, so a strict ban wouldn't do, but reducing the automatic nature of handing out plastic ones to everyone should be phased out.
---

guess I need to stock up on plastic straws like Elaine stocked up on the sponges.
---

konokonohamaru posted...

I'm not against it in principle but seriously paper straws are terrible. My loss in consumer surplus isn't worth the whatever marginal protection to the ocean happens

It's stupid. It's simply transferring the problem to something else, it's basically kicking the can down the road.

-No plastic = "save the turtles", so use paper straws.

-Then we will learn that some forest was literally chopped down to get so much paper for the paper straws, leaving the cute little semi-extinct "macadongiaou pink chimps" without a home, and you will see pictures of the cute, pink-colored chimps weeping around the body of their dead mom.

- So maybe then we will move to "seaweed based" straws, and in a couple years we will learn we disrupted the seaweed population and the turtles are dying again anyway.

Now we will have dead turtles and dead ksdfhdkdgg pink chimps.

pogo_rabid posted...

Back when I was a kid, we had paper bags at the grocery store. Then there was a bug push to use "environmentally friendly" plastic bags.

Now they just banned plastic bags and reintroduced paper bags. Fuck this trendy faux environmentalism.

This.

We just spread problems around.

Cars were seen as ecological, health friendly alternative back when they were invented because cities were drowning in horse shit (literally).

Caution998 posted...

pogo_rabid posted...

Back when I was a kid, we had paper bags at the grocery store. Then there was a bug push to use "environmentally friendly" plastic bags.

Now they just banned plastic bags and reintroduced paper bags. Fuck this trendy faux environmentalism.

yup. Though I'm glad paper bags are coming back. I've missed them so!

Yeah but all the stores around here charge $.10 a bag now. Shiz is annoying.
---

Coastal_elite posted...

-Then we will learn that some forest was literally chopped down to get so much paper for the paper straws, leaving the cute little semi-extinct "macadongiaou pink chimps" without a home, and you will see pictures of the cute, pink-colored chimps weeping around the body of their dead mom.

If only there were some sort of plant that grew rapidly and could be planted essentially anywhere, while producing useful industrial fiber...

It's just a feel good move that has very little impact on improving the environment.

We went from plastic straws wrapped in paper to paper straws wrapped in plastic.

It's really small dick energy changes like this that the liberals get away with because their opposition flat out denies climate change is an issue.
---

Questionmarktarius posted...

Coastal_elite posted...

-Then we will learn that some forest was literally chopped down to get so much paper for the paper straws, leaving the cute little semi-extinct "macadongiaou pink chimps" without a home, and you will see pictures of the cute, pink-colored chimps weeping around the body of their dead mom.

If only there were some sort of plant that grew rapidly and could be planted essentially anywhere, while producing useful industrial fiber...

Yeah well *looks*

TEH DEVIL'S LETTUCE!!!!! JEFFERSON BEAUEREGARD SESSIONS TOLD ME IT BAD!!!!!! RWEJKCKELFKE

Lol ;)

90% of plastic pollution comes from a handful of countries and none of them are the US. It will accomplish nothing.
---

I don't have a problem with it since I don't like using straws. Plus you can just buy reusable straws if you use em at home that much.

That said, yeah it I doubt it really makes much of a difference in the environment. Plastic bag ban has had a much bigger impact around here IMO.
---

It's just a straw but whatever makes the green people happier is fine I'll drink out of a cup like a normal person