Plastic is bad for the environment. This has been common knowledge for years. What is controversial, however, is demanding that everyone turn vegan and ditch single-use plastic. People fail to recognize that most of the earth’s pollution stems from major corporations rather than individuals. Also, expecting everyone to stop using straws fails to acknowledge the unintended consequences, which could be catastrophic for certain groups. Certainly, if you’re able to, do what you can to help the environment. Ditch the straws or get reusable ones, ask for paper bags the next time you go grocery shopping and reduce the amount of meat you consume, but don’t expect everyone to do the same. We first must hold corporations accountable for their actions, which affect the environment differently.
It would be more productive to start by changing the ways major corporations treat the environment. In an article from 2017, The Guardian reported that 71 percent of global emissions were caused by only 100 major corporations. In essence, a majority of the global emissions that damage the ozone, the air we breathe, the water we drink and the produce we grow is caused by a small group of businesses that remain unchecked by economic policies. By rewarding companies that enact environmentally friendly practices, we could begin to reverse climate change on a macro level.
The process of enacting change at the macro level is known as looking up, rather than looking down. Instead of looking down, blaming individuals and insisting we single-handedly reverse climate change by using paper bags or skipping straws, we can look up to the major corporations and demand they adopt healthier policies through economic incentives. Giving tax breaks to eco-friendly businesses would promote longer-lasting policies and encourage others to follow suit. Investing in socially conscious companies also results in lasting change and can encourage business to enact similar methods and practices.
Socially responsible investing is the act of investing in companies that uphold ethical standards in regard to different social spheres. For example, people may choose to invest in businesses that are mindful of the impact they can have to better lives in the community. In this case, maybe we could encourage change by investing in companies that have environmentally friendly policies. In doing so, corporations will feel compelled to behave similarly in order to acquire more investors.
By looking up to major corporations that hold the most influence over economic policies and climate change, we can take the burden off of individuals to solve the problem of climate change. Of course, we should do what we can to reduce, reuse and recycle, but it is unrealistic to expect our small contributions alone to solve the environmental problems we face today. These contributions matter, which is why most of my trips are by bike, but let’s be real. My bike trips are overwhelmed by the primary polluters.
In that vein, banning things such as straws and plastic bags will help, but we should proceed with caution. Many people with physical disabilities use straws as tools to help with drinking, and they would be harmed by a straw ban. Rather than banning straws in cities, restaurants should ask if people would like a straw, instead of handing them their drinks with straws already unwrapped. Local burger restaurant Loosey’s has enacted this policy, asking if people would like a straw instead of assuming that they would. Each saved straw benefits both the restaurant’s bottom line as well as the environment. Further, straws made from cornstarch could also be a good place to begin, as these plastic-looking straws are actually biodegradable. Regardless of what the straws are made of, banning them fails to acknowledge they are important to some people. Straw bans promote the ableist ideal that straws are futile, without considering the fact that some people rely on straws to aid their everyday lives.
Reducing the amount of plastic in your life is noble, and we should all do what we can. However, don’t get discouraged if you feel as though your contributions have no effect. Reversing climate change is a group effort. We are not in this alone. While we chip away ourselves, we must demand that big businesses do better.
Hannah Whitaker is a UF English sophomore. Her column appears on Mondays.
Photo by Gabriel Gurrola on Unsplash
