The Final Straw

My ‘final straw’ moment happened when I saw one being pulled out of a turtle’s nose. The plastic straw probably got wedged there as the animal swam through the patches of trash in the ocean. As I watch the video of a man pulling at the straw, and the blood oozing, I think I see the turtle silently scream. I burst into tears.

You can watch the video for yourself at this link, with a warning that the images may cause distress.

I would like to think that seeing such a video would jolt me into action: maybe vociferously join a public campaign to protect marine creatures from the tonnes of waste we vomit out into the ocean.

The problem is, the last 10 years I have seen myself sucked into a downward spiral of dejected cynicism about the state of the environment, with always the same end result: inaction.

I learn a terrifying statistic, or see footage about human’s impact on the environment. I want to do something about it, but then give in to the inner voice that says it’s all useless anyway. I convince myself that little actions with only marginal impact are useless, a lame attempt- “go big or go home!”. At the same time, I cannot see what big, silver-bullet action is needed. I feel sad, and overwhelmed by my powerlessness and cowardice. I put the thoughts away, until the next statistic or footage.

But a couple of weeks ago I got tired of my defeatist attitude. I believe in personal integrity; and if I care about an issue, I should quit being such a negative hypocrite and do something about it. An attempt is better than sitting there uselessly. This is the only way I will come to respect me.

So, I am taking small actions. And Reader, I will share with you what the outcome of these small actions are, in the hopes of overcoming my fears and blockers.

If you feel inspired, please – go ahead and copy me. Because if Cynical Moi can do it, you can do it too.

Here’s what I’m doing.

1. I ordered my iced drink with “no straw, please.” Neither the woman at the till nor the restaurant waiter had an issue with this. They barely blinked in response, only checking that they heard me right. Conclusion: very easy/effortless to do, and works best if more consumers do it too.
2. I suggested to a cafe that in future they ask whether I needed a straw, rather than providing one by default. Mixed results so far- I need to keep going with this one. The waiter just took it as a criticism of his individual performance, and I doubt he would pass on the feedback to his colleagues, let alone the establishment. Note to self: make it impersonal! Don’t talk about him/her directly, but more about general practice at the establishment “I noticed at this cafe that waiters don’t offer the straw…”. Conclusion: practice makes perfect. Update to follow.
3. (Next) Suggest to the manager of the establishment that they switch to re-usable straws (e.g. metal), or biodegradable at the least. For some reason I am nervous about being perceived as the shrieky hippie customer with this one but I am setting myself the challenge of doing it and reporting back! I think it will be about delivery (kind, helpful) and maybe suggesting a specific place they can source reusable straws, to make it as easy as possible for them to follow up on the suggestion.