Paper straw is objectively the worst.
Competition with watches to use them before they turn into mash, temperature issues – good for being hot or not frozen – and, worse than anything, when they come into contact with your teeth A terrifying feeling.
But we live in an age of miracles and wonders for the straw sector. They have disposable straws made from cornstarch (better but brittle), gluten (allergy alert), biodegradable plastic (high prices and some temperature issues), and even straws (meta, man). I'm making it. The foodservice industry, a $1.5 trillion giant, is very much thinking about how to get liquids on your lips. If they can understand how to swallow for you, they will do that too. The Baja Blast Injectable could be around the corner…
The reason for this sprint in the future of siping is partly due to consumer preferences. As Americans became more concerned about plastic waste, especially those that end at sea, retailers responded with alternatives. And the first, ahem, the claim that the wave of concern is based on it turns out to be very questionable, but even wise people don't want to get a chance for a sea turtle to end up with a Mickey D straw in their left nostril It might be. Aside from those with physical limitations, most people only use straw while eating, so different experiences and slightly higher costs seem like a reasonable sacrifice to many. It might be.
Then there is forced. More and more states and local governments are banning plastic drinking straws. California is leading the way and continues to crack down on single-use plastics. This blue state move led to a red state backlash that Republican lawmakers sought a ban. The plastic straw took on a totemic quality for the right wing, which saw the ban as further evidence that the government overreach and the nanny state would run amok. That was all.
Wherever there is controversy, you can find benefits for enterprising Americans. The winners of Straw Wars were those who found a way to develop alternatives to old-fashioned plastic straws that avoided the misery that pervades the pervasiveness of paper. Twenty years ago, you used the wonders of material science to tell millions of people from making straws that drink their property lies at the bottom of a Frappuccino cup. If you said that.
As this has been unfolding over the past decade, there is the question of whether the federal government will hover over what has become a hot zone of the culture war due to environmental concerns. Progressive wanted urgent federal action against something that was merely part of the “human health and environmental crisis” promoted by the use of plastics. However, given the opposition to curing on soft straws, it is unlikely that Congress will enact the law.
President Biden then introduced executive action in 2024, launched a program banning single-use plastics in federal foodservice by 2027, and by 2035 it was completely banned across the federal government. .
This was a small beer for Biden critics on the left. Activists like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., still crusaders' environmentalists at the time, others have accused Biden of inadequate efforts on plastics, and cracked down on plastics and domestic regulations. called for greater presidential leadership to move towards a global treaty restricting.
But what Biden did was not a small thing.
The federal government, as we all know, spends a lot of money. The biggest part of that money is, well, money: it disappears as a payment for qualifications and welfare programs and aid to the state. Almost two-thirds of the $6.7 trillion kicked out by Uncle Sam is in the form of direct payments.
But the federal government also buys a lot In 2023 there were products like $871 billion, with more than half of which spent on military personnel.
Plastic straws, cookware and bags didn't make up a large part of that $871 billion, but they're enough to make the US government one of the world's largest buyers of consumer goods. Changes to federal purchasing policies affect everyone. If the company is a government contractor or wants to become a government contractor, Prudence will direct them to match their product lines with federal purchasing policies. Goodbye plastic fork, hello bamboo spokes.
On Friday, Trump said on social media that he is ready to turn the course back. Return to plastic! “And a more exciting follow-up: “Enjoy your next drink without a straw that will get you tired and melt in your mouth!!!”
Now this is where trancogy becomes tricky. It may be less than it appears, as you don't see the order promised. Trump could withdraw Biden's actions and allow agencies to return to their previous situation. If Park Services wants to reduce waste and use biodegradable products, that's fine. If the pentagon requires a durable cheap plastic straw, then that's fine too.
Or maybe Trump means what he says and demands from the government only Using plastic straws, standardize federal purchases to meet very specific plastic mold requirements. Trump has been able to use federal spending to shape the choices Americans have in their personal lives.
The Straw Showdown is a very useful metaphor for the big issues that have been hanging in Washington recently. Does Trump want to get Biden back on top or remove him?
Looking at how the Department of Justice aims to use civil rights to target private employers who support the FCC's move to crack down on diversity employment initiatives and left-wing speeches, it's the latter. It seems like that. Four years after the regulatory state was adopted for progressive social engineering, the right wing appears to be ready to take their turn.
