Donald Trump is bringing back plastic straws despite there being evidence to suggest they’re contributing to climate change.
Last year, the Biden administration outlined its plans to abolish the use of plastic straws by 2027 with global warming and pollution in mind.But Trump branded the plans as ‘ridiculous’and criticized the more environmentally friendly alternative – paper straws.”These things don’t work, I’ve had them many times, and on occasion, they break, they explode,” Trump said. “If something’s hot, they don’t last very long, like a matter of minutes, sometimes a matter of seconds. It’s a ridiculous situation.”
Donald Trump is bringing back single-use straws
Now, Trump has signed an executive order mandating a return to single-use plastic straws in the U.S.According to Condor Ferries, Americans use 50 million straws daily, with 7.5 million polluting U.S. coastlines.Trump, however, has an unusual solution to this issue—sharks.While plastic straws are not part of a healthy diet for sharks (or any marine animals), Trump’s proposed “fix” for ocean pollution is that sharks will eat them.Speaking as he signed the order yesterday (February 11), Trump said: “I don’t think that plastic is going to affect the shark very much as they’re eating, as they’re munching their way through the ocean.”While Trump takes a nonchalant stance on sharks and plastic pollution, the Marine Megafauna Foundation has previously highlighted the harmful effects of ocean plastics—such as straws—on sharks and rays in particular.”Plastic waste, regardless of whether it was originally a fishing net or a toothbrush, does not disappear over time—rather, it breaks into smaller and smaller pieces,” the foundation’s website states.”These tiny, toxic pieces of plastic, now ubiquitous throughout the ocean, are impossible for animals to avoid. Plastic fragments have been found in the stomachs of many sharks and rays, and accidental ingestion by large filter-feeders such as manta rays, whale sharks, and basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus) is a particular concern.””Blockages and internal injuries from ingestion can be lethal,” it adds.
Trump is banking on marine life like sharks ingesting plastic straws
The Save Our Seas Foundation also states that ingested plastic can “cause physical damage to the digestive tracts and other internal tissues in sharks,” potentially leading to “internal injuries, complications, and death in cases of long-term exposure.”And it’s not just the plastics themselves that pose a threat—it’s also the chemical pollutants they absorb, which are then transferred to animals like sharks and rays once ingested.”Upon ingestion, these chemicals can leach into the animals’ tissue,” the foundation explained. “In other ocean wildlife groups, such as marine mammals, this is believed to suppress their reproduction.””For sharks and rays that are already threatened with extinction, […] the possibility of a similar inhibitory effect is a significant concern.”A 2020 study on UK sharks found that 67 percent of them had ingested microplastics and man-made fibers, according to the Marine Conservation Society. The study’s lead author, Kristian Parton, stated that the impact of plastic pollution on sharks was “understudied.”
