Shut up about the straw ban already!

Actually don't, it is important to have a discussion and keep issues in the public consciousness. But there is a ridiculous backlash against straw bans from the left that I just don't get.

For those of you who aren't paying attention, for some reason the cultural zeitgeist decided that it was time to address a source of plastic waste, namely straws, this has lead to some cities instituting bans on said products in restaurants.Other places of business voluntarily stopped using them but it isn't exactly widespread.

This is hard for some folks, literally, because some physical disabilities make it difficult to drink without a straw, and many places haven't figured out options to replace plastic straws. Or at least they haven't done so swiftly. That complaint is completely legitimate and I fully support people pushing their restaurants to finding a solution for those groups, but those solutions do exist and seem to be being implemented.

The other complaint is a bit more dumb, progressive opponents of straw bans say that consumer waste is an extremely small percentage of the overall crisis and that by putting the responsibility on the consumer for doing something about it we are ignoring the greater problem. This isn't wrong per se, but it is disingenuous and obstructive.

See, it's pretty hard to force tech companies to stop manufacturing things with planned obsolescence in mind, it is also hard to force power companies to focus on renewable energy sources, or to abandon fossil fuels in general. It is also hard to get legislation passed to force private companies to change. Which doesn't leave a ton of options for the average person to institute change.

Now I am not saying pressure shouldn't be put on institutions to change, that should absolutely be a priority, but the issue can, and needs to be, tackled from the top and the bottom. Think of it this way, once we win and the big stuff is done, the little things will still be a problem, fixing what can be fixed now, while at the same time pressuring the government and private corporations to catch up doesn't seem like a bad thing to me.

By all means, keep sharing information about what else needs to be done and how we can't stop with just straw bans, but you can't honestly say that they aren't a positive change that needs to be made.