The Last Straw: A Change of Direction
A few weeks ago, my friend Yossi Sheffi of MIT posted on LinkedIn about the No Straw Challenge. He asked if efforts like this make a difference. I was surprised at the push back in the comments. The small effort of refusing a straw didn’t get much respect.
Voluntary elimination of plastic straws alone will not solve the vexing challenge of plastic in our oceans or our consumption of fossil fuel. However, I think that efforts such as these are critical for a couple of reasons:
First, to create truly meaningful change at meta-system scale, we need to re-frame our relationships to plastic and to consumption. That means working bottom-up (straw refusal) as well as middle-out (supply chain and ingredient reform), and top-down (policy and regulation). None alone will be sufficient. In complex adaptive system terms, this is a challenge of influencing a variety of forces in the system toward a positive outcome.
The more bottom-up influence, the less top-down regulation is necessary.
I now say “no straw” as often as I can remember when I order a beverage. I also carry a plastic water bottle and use a refillable coffee mug. I don’t share this to polish my Virtuous Earthling merit badge; each of these helps remind me to be thoughtful about all of my consumption.
Second, saying “no straw” also gives a signal to the establishment — and we see more and more offering straws only on demand if at all. That’s how bottom-up actions can trigger middle-out efforts which have an impact at a greater scale. When you stop to think about it, businesses have a natural incentive to reduce use of “free” items such as straws and plastic bags as they come with a cost. If they believe that making straws optional meets customers expectations, they’ll be happy to pull back from automatic distribution.
Further, the no-straw choice can open a conservation with my fellow diners without having to sound (too) preachy. I’ve made a choice not to use something that will last in landfills for generations to do a job that will take 10 minutes. Most people don’t think about whether or not to use a straw. They just reflexively use what’s put in front of them. Articulating the choice point often opens eyes.
And finally, this movement was started by a nine year-old (now 16): Milo Cress. I think it important to support kids whenever they show initiative to do something good. Perhaps its because I went door-to-door selling greeting cards at that age — and people were kind enough to order them. I buy Girl Scout cookies. I stop at the high school pep squad car wash. And I never pass a lemonade stand without making a purchase. These are all small gestures — choices each of us makes every day. Becoming more mindful and intentional about those choices is how we change the world.
It is wise to remember the words of Lao-Tzu: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
