By: Danny Mishek

My crystal ball was not seeing that 4th quarter of last year, we all would hate plastic straws. From the articles that I read, the straws were the reason we had unrest in the Middle East, immigration issues on our borders and how the Houston Astros didn’t win the World Series. Without straws, we would have had world peace.

On a serious note, I am pleased that sustainability, by the use of straws, made it to the headlines. But, are we missing a bigger movement? The straw is only part of the issue. Because of straw bans, I am finding myself drinking from a paper straw in a Styrofoam cup. This is horrible. It is like putting chocolate cake and ice cream on a weight watchers salad. The results do not meet the intentions.

The intention of sustainability is to offset the results / current situation from decades of poor decisions, lack of environmental respect, week-minded government and greedy people that think that everything is based on cost. What are our costs now to filter water, replant river banks, clean our air, mine our oceans for plastic, ship our trash to out of state landfills and build up communities that are affected by high water trends?

Do we really hate straws or do we hate ourselves? We can blame straws or 3rd world country’s policies, but if we really look in the mirror, we do not like what we see. Our backyard is a mess. Our policies are a mess and our focus and energies are not spent in the right areas. What if our crystal ball really was a mirror?

Simple questions for simple behavior:

• Do you bring a water bottle to reuse?
• Do you bring your own bags when you shop?
• Do you plant plants that are bee and butterfly friendly?
• Do you support your local farmer’s market or buy local?
• Does your city pick up your food waste?
• If so, do you compost?
• Do you turn your lights off when not in use?
• Do you recycle?
• Do you bring your own to-go containers to restaurants?

These are small and simple ways to live a sustainable life. These habits are world changing. It does start with you.

You can control your crystal ball with your actions and your sustainable values. If you are not doing the above, your crystal ball will remain a cloudy reflection of yourself looking into a mirror.

– Danny Mishek