There is more to environmentalism than saying no to plastic straws
‘It’s only one straw say 7 billion people’
Have you ever been online and seen an influencer/celebrity talking about saying no to plastic straws? I have! What did you think of that influencer? Oh good job, you actually care about the environment, I think more highly of you now, I should do that too! Maybe you don’t care, OR maybe you see through it. You think about the extreme life of that person. How that person flies halfway a cross the world on a regular basis to attend events and go on holiday. How that person advertises un-environmentally friendly products on their social media for profit. How that person eats red meat and so on...
This does not only apply to saying no to straws btw. Recently for ex. I’ve seen a lot of people posting on social media about the fires in the Amazon, #prayfortheAmazon. Yet the next day they post a picture of them eating a steak?! A bit ironic isn’t it. Maybe even dangerous?
You see, saying no to plastic straws (or other similar things) is only a very very small part of dealing with the climate crisis. Yet those who do so are praised for being environmentally friendly while those who protest on Fridays or go vegan for ex. are criticised. I think it’s becoming a bit of a dangerous trend to think that skipping single use plastic once in a while or changing your profile picture on Facebook to a rainforest (for example, there are lot of other examples like these) is being an environmentalist and there for enough, and something to be proud of.
But what is enough? Of course there is no such thing as a perfect environmentalist (as I’ve mentioned before in a different post) but I believe everyone should do their best in being environmentally friendly in their life. Correction; Everybody needs to do their best for us to tackle this issue together. That means action from both normal citizens and politicians. From both the companies and the costumers. From both scientists and world leaders. Everyone needs to come together.
If you want to know how you can have an impact, a real impact that is greater than saying no to plastic straws I recommend doing some research. For ex. reading the other posts on this blog, going online, watching documentaries or reading books. The information is everywhere. That is why I won’t be talking about that in this post. The next step is then sharing the message with the people around you. I recommend using social media or joining local activism groups such as Fridays for the Future or Extinction Rebellion.
‘It’s only one coffee cup say 7 billion people’ ‘It’s only one steak say 7 billion people’ I could go on forever... The problem isn’t just plastic straws. It is our consumerism and capitalism.
Thank you for reading my bambling rambling once again.
-Salka
