As numerous\nsources warn of the impending climate change catastrophe, people across the\nworld are exercising their power as citizens and attempting to effect change in\ntheir communities and beyond. There is a heightened awareness about the\nnecessity to curb climate change in a way that feels more visceral than the\nslogans of generations before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Environmentalism\nis becoming mainstream, and one example of this is the move to ban straws.\nHardly a fringe cause, the plastic straw ban has garnered the support of\ncitizens, countries and corporations alike. For instance, nations like Taiwan\nand Scotland and multinational firms like McDonald\u2019s and Starbucks have\nannounced their intention to reduce, replace or do away with the single-use\nplastics entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the movement to ban the use of plastic straws has met with rightful protest from disability rights activists and people with disabilities (PWDs),[1]<\/a> who assert that many PWDs need to use these straws in order to drink liquids. For people with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and other conditions that impair their mobility, having a plastic straw enables them to drink beverages more easily or even at all. Without the use of plastic straws, some PWDs might be unable to drink, without the help of special eating tools to accommodate their disabilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Although\nsome environmental activists have proposed the use of other kinds of straws,\nlike compostable paper straws and reusable metal straws, these materials have\ntheir drawbacks as well. For instance, paper straws may disintegrate quickly,\nposing a choking hazard. Reusable straws may need to be washed frequently,\nwhich is not something that all PWDs can do. Silicone straws are inflexible,\nwhile metal straws conduct heat and are too hard, posing a safety risk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Already, PWDs are forced to compensate for a world that was built for able-bodied people, with few considerations for the specific needs of PWDs. From wheelchair-inaccessible buildings to videos or films with no closed-captioning, PWDs have to overcome many challenges that able-bodied people take for granted. A ban on plastic straws adds to their already-burdened load. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While\nplastic straws are labelled by some environmentalists as wasteful, for many\nPWDs, it can mean the difference between being able to participate fully in society\nand being isolated. Although it may seem like a minor issue to pack reusable or\ncompostable straws, it is another item in a long list of problems to pre-empt\nas a PWD. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet, the\nenvironmental movement and the disability justice movement do not have to be at\nodds with each other, nor should they be. PWDs are some of the most vulnerable\nwhen it comes to natural disasters and pollution. As such, they have an\nincreased stake in mitigating and preventing the worst of climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, PWDs are not voiceless victims, and disability rights activists have championed causes like better public transport networks and environmental regulation, because PWDs are among the people most affected by the ill-designed public transport systems and the worst effects of environmental degradation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most\nimportantly, climate change affects us all, and individual changes might not be\nenough to reverse the effects of climate change. This does not mean that we\nshould give into despair, but rather consider the systemic problems that cause\nclimate change. Much of the focus on sustainability has been directed towards\nindividual changes, like recycling, consuming fewer resources and taking\ndifferent modes of transport, for instance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, these do not address the systemic problems of fossil fuel reliance, the influence of oil companies, and the extractive practices of many multinational corporations. The combined impact of these factors far outweighs the impact of using reusable straws, which form only 4% of total plastic waste.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n In order to\ncombat the worst effects of climate change, we need to ensure that\nsustainability does not mean exclusivity. There are solutions that we can work\ntowards that would benefit whole societies, like reducing our collective\nreliance on fossil fuels by insisting on cleaner, alternative forms of energy\nlike wind or solar power. Organisations like Students Taking Action for NUS to\nDivest (STAND) are urging the university to divest its investments in fossil\nfuels in order to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to renewable\nforms of energy, eventually culminating in a zero-emission economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In\naddition, social movements of different stripes can also work together in\neffecting change on a macro level, like pushing for the creation of green jobs,\nimproving public transport networks and pushing for stricter environmental\nregulations on pollution and waste disposal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Is this to\nsay that individual changes are unnecessary? Not at all. For someone, getting\nrid of straws in their life may cause them to re-evaluate their lifestyle. They\nmight get more involved in environmental causes, cut down on international\nholidays and begin taking public transport. However, these individual changes\nmay not be possible for everyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sustainability needs to include in order to be effective, and the environmental movement needs to consider the barriers to leading a sustainable lifestyle. For instance, instead of a complete ban of plastic straws, some establishments have promised to offer plastic straws to customers who request them. Incorporating the needs of PWDs into our vision of sustainability can only strengthen the movement, not detract from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n ______________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n [1]<\/a> In this article, I\u2019ve chosen to use first-person language. However, as people with disabilities are not a monolith, some may prefer to be called disabled people instead. For more on this topic, you can read the essay \u201cWhy I Don\u2019t Use People First Language: A Brief History of My Relationship with the Language and Disability<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [2]<\/a> https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/business\/2018\/jul\/09\/starbucks-eliminate-plastic-straws-globally-2020<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n ___<\/p>\n\n\n\n Header image: http:\/\/dastornews.com\/2018\/03\/like-im-normal-weird-disabled-life<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n