Why Straws Are Bad for Turtle

It’s a common sight: images of turtles harmed by plastic straws, stirring up feelings of sadness and concern. It leaves one pondering, why are straws so bad for turtles?

The answer is hard-hitting: straws can cause physical harm and pose a life-threatening risk to turtles. The plastic does not decompose and can be mistaken for food.

When ingested, this leads to malnutrition, suffocation, and internal injuries. Sadly, discarded single-use plastic straws significantly contribute to this oceanic problem, affecting not only turtles but all marine life.

A Brief History of the Straw

First and foremost, let’s take a quick glimpse at how the straw we’re so used to in modern society came into existence. They didn’t begin as plastic hazards, rather they were originally a natural and biodegradable resource.

From the Reed straws of Ancient Times

The first evidence of straws comes from a seal found in a Sumerian tomb dated to 3,000 B.C.E. It depicts a sumerian drinking beer from a jar through a straw crafted from reeds. These ancient straws were made from the hollow stems of plants such as rye grass, and while they were an effective tool for drinking, they were also eco-friendly. Once discarded, they would break down and return to the earth without causing damage to the environment and sea life, including turtles.

Evolution into Modern Plastic Straws

Fast-forward to the 19th century, American inventor Marvin Stone was sipping a mint julep through a rye grass straw and decided there must be a better way. He wrapped strips of paper around a pencil, glued them together, and thus the modern-day straw was born. This straw was still biodegradable, but it was not until the 1960s, with the rise of cheap plastic production, that straws transformed into the environmental burden we know today.

The invention of plastic straws was well-received because not only were they durable and flexible, but they could also be mass-produced, making them appealing to the burgeoning fast food industry. Unfortunately, the very attributes that made them attractive – their longevity and large-scale production – are what make them so harmful to turtles and other marine life in our contemporary era. Straws created decades ago are even now causing harm to the natural world, as they take hundreds of years to decompose.

The Straw-Turtle Conundrum: The Impact

The straw-turtle conundrum is a present-day ecological issue. Its impact is terrifying and largely under-addressed—a terrifying reflection of our irresponsible consumable plastic use. We often fail to comprehend the dangerous consequence of our actions, such as discarding a plastic straw after a single use.

The Danger Posed by Plastic Straws

To the unsuspecting eye, a plastic straw might seem harmless, simply a tool to enhance our beverage consumption experience. Yet, the truth is much dire. Straws, due to their size and lightweight nature, often end up in our beautiful oceans where they cause tremendous harm to marine life.

The Unsavoury Journey of a Discarded Straw

The journey of a discarded straw to the ocean paints an aggrieving picture. It might be dropped on the street, swept away into storm drains, ending up in rivers, and finally carried away to the ocean. They can also directly be thrown into the ocean, often as part of larger plastic waste dumps. Their resilient material allows them to last for hundreds of years, quietly causing havoc beneath the waves.

The Sad Plight of Ocean Life and Turtles

Choking and Starving: The Hardships Caused by Straws

Due to their thin, elongated shape, straws pose a unique threat to ocean life, particularly sea turtles. They mistake straws for food or ingest them accidentally. This results in choking, internal injuries, and delayed starvation as the straws fill their stomachs, leaving no room for actual nourishment. The distressing video of a straw being removed from a turtle’s nostril became viral a few years ago, highlighting the evils of plastic waste in the ocean.

Turtles: Symbolic Victims of Our Plastic Waste

Sea turtles have unfortunately become symbolic victims of our plastic misuse, with straws particularly threatening their survival. Their evolutionary makeup, including their feeding habits and physical characteristics, makes them vulnerable to straw ingestion and entanglement. Sadly, all seven species of sea turtles are already either threatened or endangered. The added stress of plastic pollution, with straws being a key player, pushes them further on the brink of extinction.

Behind the Scenes: Influences on Turtle Habitats

Turtles, both sea turtles and freshwater species, have been around for more than 100 million years. They’ve survived mass extinction events that wiped out the dinosaurs, but today, they’re facing numerous threats that have the potential to significantly impact their populations. The two top threats: global warming and plastic pollution, including plastic straws.

Global Warming: A Threat Multiplier

Global warming, driven by the increase in greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, has the potential to seriously impact turtle populations. This is because temperature determines the sex of turtle eggs; warmer temperatures lead to more female hatchlings, while cooler temperatures result in more males. As global warming increases, so too does the temperature of turtle nests, leading to an imbalance in the ratio of male to female hatchlings, which could have serious repercussions for future generations of turtles.

Coupling of Oceanic and Terrestrial Threats

The threat of global warming doesn’t end there. As the earth heats up, sea levels rise, leading to the loss of nesting beaches for sea turtles. Along with rising sea levels, increased storm intensity, a byproduct of a warming planet, can lead to beach erosion, further hampering a turtle’s ability to nest successfully.

Pollution: Not Just Straws

While global warming poses serious threats to turtles, pollution, specifically plastic pollution, adds to the vulnerability of these creatures. Turtles can easily mistake plastic garbage for food, especially sea turtles, who often mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, one of their dietary staples.

As a prime example, plastic straws have been known to cause harm to sea turtles. Videos have circulated on the internet of sea turtles with plastic straws stuck in their nostrils, causing obvious distress and harm to the animal. It is estimated that over 8 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans each year and straws constitute a significant part of this pollution. While they may seem relatively harmless, they’re not recyclable due to their small size and lightweight yet they take up to 200 years to decompose.

It’s also important to note that turtles are not the only victims of our plastic habit. Over 1 million seabirds and marine animals die each year from ingesting plastic. So when we talk about plastic pollution, we’re not just talking about straws, we’re talking about a much bigger problem.

Showcase: Case Studies

The widespread use and subsequent disposal of plastic straws pose a major threat to marine life, specifically turtles. It is crucial to understand why this seemingly insignificant household item can lead to destructive consequences for these sea creatures.

The Straw Intake of a Turtle

When plastic straws end up in the ocean, they tend to break down into smaller pieces over time, but do not completely degrade. This leaves behind microplastics, tiny pieces of plastic less than 5mm long, which are easily confused with food by marine animals. Particularly, sea turtles often mistake these microplastics and plastic straws for their prey such as jellyfish.

Take, for example, the incident that went viral in 2015: marine biologists discovered a sea turtle with a plastic straw stuck in its nostril. The straw had caused significant physical distress and pain to the turtle. It was a graphic illustration of how discarded plastic waste literally ends up in the bodies of marine creatures, causing harm and often leading to premature death.

Powerful Stories and Activism

Stories like that of the turtle and the straw have been instrumental in raising public awareness about the grave environmental issue. Activists around the world have taken this cause to heart, advocating for the reduction of single-use plastics and campaigning for alternatives to plastic straws. The #StopSucking and #StrawsSuck campaigns are great examples of how social media is being leveraged to change public opinion and habits regarding plastic straws.

Moreover, these campaigns have succeeded in influencing corporations and governments to take concrete actions. For instance, institutions such as Starbucks, McDonald’s, and even entire cities like Seattle and Vancouver have implemented policies to eliminate or drastically reduce the usage of plastic straws.

The tale of the straw and the turtle serves as a powerful reminder of our collective responsibility towards the environment. It educates us on the urgent need to reconsider our reliance on disposable plastics. It’s not just about straws; it’s about understanding the wider impact of our consumption choices on the planet and its inhabitants.

A Journey Towards Responsible Consumption

Before we delve into why straws are harmful for turtles, it’s essential to grasp the broader picture of responsible consumption. Every choice we make as a shopper, especially using single-use items like plastic straws, has a significant ecological effect. This starts with understanding the importance of even the smallest of changes.

Understanding the Importance of Small Changes

Think of it this way – if one person chooses not to use a plastic straw every day, they alone will prevent 365 straws from ending up in the ocean each year. Now, imagine if a million people made the same decision. Small changes, when multiplied by a global population, become massive shifts.

Dispelling the “Just One Straw” Myth

The ‘Just One Straw’ myth tricks us into underestimating the harm of using just one plastic straw. However, non-decomposable plastic straws can stay for hundreds of years in our ecosystems. A single straw thrown into the ocean can become a deadly tool when swallowed by marine animals, such as turtles. Straws get stuck in a turtle’s nostrils, leading to breathing difficulties, or potentially death. This creates a chain reaction affecting the whole marine ecosystem, as turtles play a vital part as prey and predator in the food chain.

Alternatives to Plastic Straws

Luckily, there are plenty of viable alternatives to plastic straws. You can opt for paper straws, bamboo straws, metal straws, or even glass straws. All these products are either reusable or recyclable, helping to minimize damage to our environment. It’s a minor adjustment to your daily habits, but it can have a significant impact in the long run.

Supportive Organizations and Campaigns

If you’re looking to make a more significant impact beyond personal use, there are several organizations and campaigns where you can lend your support. For instance, The Last Plastic Straw and Straw Free Campaign are doing exceptional work in educating the public about the detriment of plastic straws. Participating in their initiatives or even simply spreading their message can go a long way towards reducing the prevalence of plastic straws in our ecosystem.

Implementing Change: Starting from Within

Changes always start from within. The first step towards improving the plight of turtles and mitigating the disastrous effects that straws have on them is to acknowledge the magnitude of the problem. Straws, especially plastic ones, don’t biodegrade. They break down into smaller, micro-plastic pieces that not only pollute our oceans but also end up killing innocent marine life, like turtles. Turtles mistake floating straws for food and ingesting them leads to fatal blockages in their digestive tracts. This is the grim reality we all need to open our eyes to.

Once this reality hits home, what can we, as individuals, do about it? Actually, a lot! An action as simple as refusing a plastic straw at restaurants or cafes can create a ripple effect. Imagine the amount of plastic waste you could reduce in your lifetime just by rejecting straws or choosing to sip from the cup! The key is to make it a habit. To tackle this problem effectively, we must transform our personal habits into collective action. This isn’t as difficult as it seems. You could start by carrying your own reusable straw and inspire others around you to do the same.

Petitioning for policy changes could be another bold step in the correct direction. As voters and consumers, we have the power to drive change, and our lawmakers need to be aware of our concerns. Write to your local, regional and national representatives to request bans or restrictions on single-use plastics. Rally at your local government meetings and join hands with environmental organizations to lobby against careless plastics use. These might sound small but make a substantial movement when people band together.

Moreover, businesses also need to step up and consider their corporate social responsibilities seriously. They’re in a unique position to make an enormous impact. Take Starbucks for example, which has pledged to eliminate plastic straws from all of its stores by 2020. Now that’s a big move, but we need more such corporations to engage in such eco-friendly practices. Businesses can play a pivotal role in limiting straw use by serving them only on request, or better yet, switching to alternatives such as paper, glass, bamboo, or stainless steel straws.

Resources

• https://blogs.nicholas.duke.edu/env212/plastic-straws-and-sea-turtles/
• https://org.osu.edu/sundial/2019/03/05/plastic-straws-help-sea-turtles-drink-water-better/
• https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1096&context=pitzer_theses