Metal straws are taking over the internet

All the outrage recently has been about straws, more specifically metal straws and how they will help the environment and save the turtles. As we have already known that the plastic that we use and make kills our environment and the animals in the ocean, but recently people have tried to make more of an effort to try and minimize the plastic we use. One of the biggest difference that has been made was the 10 cents added to bye plastic or paper bags at the grocery store which encouraged people to bring their own reusable bags. But now many people are starting to use metal straws instead to plastic straws and there are also many companies and business that have gotten rid of their use of plastic straws or have given alternative including the use of paper straws or like Startbucks, the provide lids such as nitro lids that have a small hole at the top that people cant sip out of instead. Many places are also selling metal straws as well so people can just reuse them.

Now to me the use of metal straw yes does help reduce the plastic use for many but personally I don't think it makes as big of a difference as the plastic bags did, but none the less it is a difference. Even though making such a big change within businesses takes a lot of work and thought, I think that companies could start looking into better paper cups that are not very flimsy and that are of a better quality to use instead of plastic cups even though plastic cups are recyclable, but so are straws. So why did people decided to invest to find a better alternative to plastic straws rather than plastic cups as I would thin as they are a much bigger substance t would make a bigger difference. But none the less the use of straws is not good either and people have made it clear that it is hurting our marine animals (but so is plastic cups) but people have made it know for hurting and killing an endangered animal  that a lot of people are fond of, the sea turtle.

There was a viral video of a sea turtle having a plastic straw stuck in it's nose that was being removed, which was originally posted on YouTube, and there were three reposted videos of the same thing, and the top three viewed videos of the same video collectively had more than 50 million views, which since then many have bought metal straws and have been clearly aware of the issue. But the video was posted three years ago, so why did it get so much attention now, three years later? Is it a way for the companies to sell more metal straws because they are using this as a pity reason using this as the "need to Nurture" for the awareness? But from recent post on many nature awareness bloggers on Instagram many have posted about this video of the turtle with the plastic straw in its nose, with the ad of a metal straw at the end and telling how the plastic is killing the ocean. It was such a huge topic on Instagram when it surfaced as the accounts posted a three year old video, but it raised so much more awareness on the topic that so many were reposting it on their Instagram stories. Now this shows how strong the media is in terms of how to also sell a product such as the metal straws, and thought the plastic is a problem the media chose to look at the hurting animals as a better marketing technique. Though it is very sad and a heart held thing that the turtles are hurting, so many other things in the oceans are as well, and this video with the turtle I think caught more attention than the other videos of the ocean and how it is just filled with plastic.

But what do the plastic straw actually do to the Sea Turtles? Well as seen in the video plastic straw can get stuck in the turtle's nose causing major pain, the turtles can eat the straws and other plastic substances mistaking it for food, and as it fills us its stomach, it can cause them to starve to death, other than that other plastic like nets and zip ties can get caught around the animals, suffocating them and causing other harm. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wH878t78bw