“Bring Your Own Straw”, and Other Illustrations of Environmental Ableism: How People With Disabilities are Left Out of Environmental Conversations
Like every other social issue, ableism is intersectional. That is to say, many other social issues affect it. People affected by ableism are often the most drastically affected in many ways by social issues but are also the least thought about. Everyone knows the basis of many other social problems. People engage in racism because of white supremacy. People engage in sexism because of patriarchy. People engage in homophobia because of The Bible. But if you were to ask someone off the street how people engage in ableism, not only might they not be able to answer you, they might not even know what ableism is. One of the biggest problems that ableism faces as a whole is that people are not very educated on what it is and what it means. Dictionaries tend to prove unhelpful, for Meriam-Webster defines ableism simply as “discrimination or prejudice against individuals with disabilities” (Meriam-Webster). This is a very cut and dry view of what ableism truly is. Ableism is not so black and white, and instead is a broad social issue with lots of intricate parts. Bob Pease, the Head of Social Work at Deakin University, explained it best when he said: “Ableism is so deeply embedded within our culture that we are often unable to recognize it” (Pease). He explains that the issue of ableism is so common that we aren’t able to notice when we are engaging in it. Instead, we live around it and through it every day, not realizing the damage being done. One of the biggest and most damaging aspects of this revelation is the concept of “environmental ableism”.
Climate change and global warming affect all of us in one way or another. There are already a countless number of climate refugees in the east of our world flooding to the west to live comfortably and restart their whole lives. Climate scientists keep reminding us that we only have a decade to slow down global warming before humans become extinct. As such, the rational portion of society is deciding to listen and do what they can to clean up our environment. However, some ways that are being utilized are negatively affecting the lives of the disabled community and getting no recognition for doing so. On the other side of the coin, those who choose not to do anything about the rapid destruction of our planet are harming everyone, but the disabled community especially. The issues of global warming and climate change affect disabled people far more drastically in ways that are not considered by the able-bodied community. People with certain illnesses and ailments are more vulnerable to the difficulties climate change produces. In short, climate change and global warming influence the lives of the disabled community to a greater extent, but the effect is often not given due consideration.
The plastic straw ban is the most recent and most notable example of environmental ableism. In the dim light of the public eye, starting the ban of plastic, and most prominently, the ban of plastic straws, is a step towards long term change. To many, the plastic straw ban means a far cleaner environment in our land and oceans. The catalyst of this movement started in 2015 when a video surfaced of a turtle with a plastic straw up its nose. The infamous video was filmed by a marine biologist student at Texas A&M, and in many ways showed how humans have been flooding the oceans with single-use plastics, and ultimately urged the population to rethink how they use plastics. In what seemed like an instant, major chains across the United States started banning the humble straw in their restaurants and establishments, and even today are being phased out.
Places like Starbucks and Disney resorts have either begun to or have completely phased out plastic straws from their businesses, hiding behind a smoke-screen, claiming to do so as part of a “clean initiative”. These exploits are better known by the textbook as “greenwashing”. “Environmental Communication In the Public Sphere” defines this term as: “[a]n attempt to promote the appearances of products and commodity consumption as environmental or ‘green’...” (Pezzullo, Cox 362). These corporations and countless others tend to fall short in actual efficient environmental impacts, but by banning plastic straws, they are seen in the public eye as a green business, which drives their numbers and profits up. We are urged to now bring our own straws and do away with the plastic ones, a result of us to blaming ourselves as individuals for every environmental issue.
Major corporations have a funny way, and are quite good, at making us believe that every major environmental issue is a direct result of our own individual wrong-doing. The ozone layer is depleting because we drive to work. Global warming is happening because we don’t recycle enough. There’s plastic in the ocean because we use too many plastic straws. Of course, these claims are not ludacris and do hold some validity. Gasoline emissions, waste creation, and plastic use do have to do with what we do on a daily basis, but only to a certain extent. We are told by big corporations that we need to “do our part” to clean up our earth, and ironically enough, it is the same corporations that are currently polluting our planet that are telling us these things. Author Saigon Flowr, in an article published by “The Establishment” last year, explains that “[i]t is also irresponsible to place the weight and accountability of solving the ocean plastics problem onto individuals.” The ozone layer isn’t depleting because of cars, but instead because of smokestacks and coal plants. Global warming isn’t due to a lack of recycling, but instead because of the creations of Tarzans and fracking. There isn’t plastic in the ocean because of straws alone, when in fact 46% of all ocean plastics are fishing debris (Nature.com), while only 0.03% is plastic straws (Vox.com). Any amount of plastic in the ocean is a bad amount, and we should be working towards cleaning it out to the best of our ability, but the responsibility should not fall on us. Regardless of the indisputable facts, we are still holding onto the belief that as long as we recycle and use glass jars instead of Tupperware, everything will be okay. We are not shown the reality facing us, that global warming is imminent because of the corporations deliberately destroying our planet… but it will always be more convenient to blame us.
Plastic straws are the most noteworthy illustration of environmental weights being placed on our shoulders. Ever since the infamous turtle video went viral, we have been encouraged to purchase and employ the use of “reusable” straws as a green alternative. For many, this is an easy change to make in their everyday life, only one more thing to remember before leaving the house, or another thing on their keychain. However, for the 61 million Americans who have some kind of disability (CDC.org), this change in the culture is detrimental. A large number of disabled Americans have a mobility impairment that requires the use of a plastic straw. Author Saigon Flowr explains that: “In all of the debates and proposed or implemented policies thus far, most have failed to include the disabled community—those of us who depend on plastic straws to carry out basic functions of daily living” (Flowr). The commencement of the plastic straw ban was good news to many environmentalists who did not bear in mind the large community who require them. Nobody thought to ask the question, “who might need these?”
After this question finally started being asked, the widespread argument for the ban became, “Why don’t disabled people use reusable straws?” The reality for most disabled people is that reusable straws don’t work, not a single alternative. Glass and pasta straws are bound to break, and someone with a seizure disorder could possibly break one in their mouth. Metal straws are a conductor of heat, making them unsafe to use in hot beverages. Paper straws fall apart far too easily and don’t last long. Every one of these alternatives accompanies the issue of sanitation. Some disabled people are not able to fit the brush through the hole of their straw for a variety of different reasons. Reusable straws must be sanitized in order to be reused, and some people are unable to do so. Plastic straws are soft, bendable, do not need to be cleaned, and are disposable . The notion that disabled people should be responsible for bringing their own straws whenever they leave the house is ableist in itself. As Flowr describes,
“You would not ask an [able] bodied person to be even mildly inconvenienced to regularly carry their own chairs and table to an eatery, or carry their own oxygen mask onto an airplane. Thus the onus to offer environmentally friendly alternatives should not fall on disabled people. If an establishment is truly committed to the environment and their clientele (because both are capable for consideration simultaneously), the responsibility to seek and offer viable and usable alternatives that also work for disabled people and not leave us excluded, is on the establishment” (Flowr).
Families of disabled people and children have enough to worry about when they leave the house, mostly worrying about bringing everything they need for their disabled loved one. Essentials might include a wheelchair, a breathing machine, a communication device, an inhaler, insulin shots, headphones, bibs, stimulation toys...and a straw on top of that, is far too much to have to remember, and should not be their responsibility alone.
Banning plastic straws is not the step in the right direction if we want to clean up our planet. Turtle videos will come and go, but statistics are forever. Studies prove that there are far more fishing debris and plastic bags in the ocean than plastic straws. While it is true that 500 million plastic straws are used in the United States every day (National Geographic), and the reduction of plastic overall would benefit our planet, banning plastic straws is banning a necessity for countless individuals. Corporations are participating in the country-wide refusal of plastic straws to raise profits, since being environmental is trendy. Not corporations nor environmentalists are fully aware of the damage that banning the plastic straw would do to countless Americans. The fact is, “alternatives” are not viable. Those who need plastic straws, need plastic straws. Not bamboo, or silicon, or metal, but the humble, reliable, plastic straw. A blanket ban on plastic straws is cruel and inhumane, and not the correct way to go about solving any of our current environmental issues.
Mobility issues aren't the only thing that climate change is making worse for the disabled community. Unbeknownst to many, climate change and global warming will affect the lives of people with certain illnesses drastically. There are countless illnesses in the medical scope that are affected by the weather in general. Extreme heat and extreme cold can mean discomfort and severe symptoms in many. After reaching out to my community, I was able to pinpoint two illnesses in particular that are being negatively affected by our rapidly changing climate. Multiple sclerosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are just two of many illnesses that drastic changes in weather make worse for those afflicted with them.
A very common symptom of MS is discomfort and pain with the changing weather. Extreme heat and extreme cold can mess with their body temperature considerably. According to the National MS Society’s website, “Many people with MS experience a temporary worsening of their symptoms when the weather is very hot or humid, or when they run a fever. These temporary changes can result from even a slight elevation in core body temperature (one-quarter to one-half of a degree). An elevated temperature further impairs the ability of a demyelinated nerve to conduct electrical impulses” (National MS Society).
In the heat, people with MS might suffer inflammation, which affects their walking, and can also cause pain, confusion, and fatigue. That being said, people who live with MS typically avoid very hot or very cold places. However, with the threat of climate change continuously growing, this is becoming a much harder problem to solve. The National MS Society's websites even urges people who live in harsh climates to move to a more stable climate if possible. With winters growing colder, and summers growing hotter, this is increasingly difficult. Climate change and global warming are making everywhere a bad place to live if you have MS.
In some more extreme cases, people with MS experience mental changes due to climate change. Of course, climate change does not directly affect patients' mental health, but its effects cannot be ignored. Extreme climates and weather patterns can cause fatigue in many patients. The fatigue they experience can cause patients to face isolation, which can cause loneliness. In an article posted by PMR.org, this phenomenon was described by saying, "Many people with MS are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat for numerous reasons. Fatigue affects participation and can lead to social isolation and negatively affect mental health" (PMR.org). Not only is climate change affecting the physical lives of these people, but it is taking a toll on their mental health as well.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, more commonly known as COPD, is another illness that is affected by weather and the changing climate. The COPD Foundation website describes COPD as “an umbrella term used to describe progressive lung diseases… [and is] characterized by increasing breathlessness" (COPD Foundation). In the same way that climate extremes affect those with MS with inflammation and pain, those with COPD can experience trouble walking, balancing, or breathing in climate extremes.
I was lucky enough to be able to interview two people from my personal life about what they experience due to climate change with their illnesses. I interviewed my cousin Diana, who suffers from COPD, and my first-grade teacher, Mrs. Gilly Shroyer, who has a loved one with MS.
My interview with Mrs. Shroyer opened my eyes to the reality that MS fighters face every day. She went into detail about symptoms that her loved one experiences due to somewhat extreme climates in general. It can be assumed that in harsher weather, her loved one's symptoms only worsen.
“My MS fighter suffers greatly when the temperature changes. Drop foot is a common symptom of MS. Climate change, high temperatures cause inflammation and walking becomes very impaired. Other symptoms that worsen are balance, fatigue, pain, and cognitive abilities. Stress and exertion also intensify symptoms, just to note. Ice packs are used often throughout the day and night to try to keep the body from heating, even on a fair temperature day” (Shroyer).
My interview with Diana had a much more personal feel, not only because she is my cousin, but because she directly suffers from COPD. She currently resides in central New Jersey, somewhere it could be assumed it's quite temperate. However, due to our changing planet, this is becoming less true over time. She also went into detail about the symptoms that she faces on a daily basis.
“Well, I have COPD, so climate change, since it’s being messed with, and everything, it’s getting crazy… I can’t handle the extreme heat or the extreme cold. I think it’s very different from what it used to be. I can maybe -- I can’t even walk a block outside in the cold or in the extreme heat. That’s how it affects me” (Ivanitski).
At the end of my interview with both of them, I decided to pry a little more. I don't believe that they should suffer in silence, so I encouraged them to talk to me a bit about the changes they would like to see in order to benefit the lives of themselves and their loved ones. Mrs. Shroyer did not explain in detail the actions she would like to see taken in terms of government policies, but rather public awareness.
“To be honest, I cannot say at this time, what steps I would like to see taken. Awareness is very important. I wish people understood more and were educated more on disabilities. it affects the daily lives of so many individuals. My MS fighter struggles daily, so many symptoms are not visible to others but are very real” (Shroyer).
Diana, who is far wiser than me and has a few years on me, explained to me that it wasn't always like this; that this wasn't always an issue. Things used to be better, and people weren't suffering. The changes she would like to see are based more on policy and climate change as a whole.
“How it affects me? Well, I would like to see some changes as far as the way that it was. People are messing with it [the climate], and it’s gotten worse, because of that. I mean, look at in the Antarctic, it’s melting, and the polar bears are struggling. That’s a big issue” (Ivanitski).
It's common knowledge the climate change affects everyone, but some of us more than others. People with these illnesses in particular, along with an array of plenty others, are far more disadvantaged by the changing climate and global warming. Patients who have MS and COPD are being placed increasingly more dressed healthwise as a climate continues to change whether it be getting hotter or colder, more rain or more snow. Like everyone else, these people deserve the right to a comfortable life that is not plagued by worrying about where to go to escape their symptoms. The lack of effort to change our climate for the better is taking that away from them.
In far more serious circumstances, the needs of everyone are not always met. For people living in high-risk disaster areas, knowing their disaster plans and escape routes are a must. However, in many of these plans, the disabled community is not considered. The fact of the matter is, we need to start recognizing climate change as a disability rights issue. Climate change affects everyone on the planet, but that disabled community is far more marginalized in these aspects than any other group. The effects of climate change strain the lives of the disabled community far more. The main way climate change affects the disabled community is by being left out of escape routes and plans.
In an article published by "Rooted In Rights", these effects are highlighted when stated that “Extreme weather has created unprecedented heat, flooding, and drought, which puts a strain on my community’s well-being. Mobility, hearing, learning, or seeing disabilities can create specific needs that require extra time or consideration in an emergency evacuation, especially as accessible options become limited” (Rootedinrights.org). More often than not, disabled people's accommodations are not considered or met when designing escape plans. It cannot be assumed that every person living in the community has the same needs when it comes to disaster. In the event of a natural disaster, deaf people need ASL translators. Wheelchair-bound people need accessible shelters. People with life-sustaining machinery need adequate transport. Keeping the needs of the disabled community in mind when creating escape plans saves lives. This claim is more adequately stated by Rooted in Rights when they explain; "Disabled people must be involved in disaster planning for it to be effective and inclusive, and disabled disaster specialists in particular have a uniquely overlapping set of knowledge that communities should explore" (Rooted in Rights). You cannot and will not have an effective natural disaster escape plan if you do not consider the needs of everybody in your community.
The fact of the matter is, disabled people are more vulnerable than the rest. Our textbook highlights this claim when it states that "...exposure to risk in modern society is unevenly distributed across the population. That is because the burden of coping with the hazards of new technology and environmental pollutants often falls on the most vulnerable…” (151). The effects of any type of disaster will always follow most harshly on the most vulnerable people of any community. Even though climate change is in "everyone issue", disabled people are more marginalized and opressed by the effects that it has. This is where the concept of the "precautionary principle" comes into play. Our textbook defines a precautionary principle as “When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically" (127). Through the research presented throughout this paper, it can be assumed that scientifically, that disabled people are more affected by climate change and global warming. The activity harming human health, more specifically, the health of the disabled community, is the harsh reality of climate change. If we are to correctly follow the precautionary principle, we will begin to start to slow down the effects of climate change on disabled people.
It has been scientifically proven that disabled people are marginalized in the sense of climate change. In a study entitled "Climate Change and Disability –Adjusted Life Years", it is stated that “Climate change with increased temperature might bring about more extreme weather events, which may have effects on both infectious and chronic diseases, including chronic respiratory disorders, heat- or cold-related illnesses… and psychological disorders…” (---). It cannot be denied that the effects of climate global warming are seriously affecting the lives of disabled people across the globe. What happens next... is up to us.
Despite the overwhelmingly grim tone of this paper, there are things that can be done in order to stop environmental ableism in its tracks. Firstly, it is important to keep plastic out of the ocean, and as much of it as we can. The people who choose to utilize reusable straws are impacting the environment in a positive way, even if it is in a small way. However, there needs to be a cultural shift in the way that we perceive people who use plastic straws. It must be understood that you do not have a right to anyone else's medical history, so you cannot ask people why they choose to use plastic straws. The disabled community should be able to use straws as freely as they want to without judgment or questions. Secondly, as a culture, we must begin to radicalize against those who harm our planet and increase our global temperatures. It must be understood by the members of our society that using a reusable bag instead of a plastic one does not have a very big impact in the grand scheme of things. It is time to blow the whistle and clear the smoke-screens that major corporations choose to hide behind. Instead of buying a metal straw to help the environment, we must normalize trying to create change on the government level, even if we are only citizens. Lastly, it should be encouraged by all people to check their hometowns and current towns escape plans to see if they include comedy for the disabled folk in their town. If not, it should be a harbinger to create change in their community. We should be encouraging people to go to their local governments and tell them " the needs of the disabled community and our town are not being met, and that is a cruel and inhumane way of navigating things."
Ableism is a really tricky social issue to tackle. Environmental ableism is one of the most shadowed sections of ableism, but there are steps we can take to make real change and reduce environmental ableism in our community and in our world.
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