7A - Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

1) After peer-reviewing my classmates' blogs, I realize that there is a huge opportunity I never thought of, and have experience with. Plastic straws continue to be a major source of pollution in our oceans, and are not completely necessary. Over summer, I prepared a presentation about the problems caused by plastic straws, and steps we could take as a society to decrease the amount of plastic straws in the future.

2)
Who: The Earth, the environment, and the Oceans. (And further, humankind as residents of the planet)
What: Plastic pollution continues to grow larger, and serve as a bigger threat to wildlife.
Why: The leading cause of plastic pollution is plastic drinking straws, which specifically due to their shape, can cause even more damage than other types of plastic.

3)
Testing the Who: Are people aware that the Earth and oceans are suffering? Do they feel this is their responsibility, or do they feel affected by it? Is anything or anyone else affected?
Testing the What: Is pollution increasing or decreasing? Are people making an attempt to recycle or decrease plastic use?
Testing the Why: Are there other major causes of ocean pollution? Is this failure due to consumers? Or due to lack of policy?

4) Summary of interviews
Of the five people I interviewed, all of them were familiar and aware that plastic pollution is a major threat to the planet. Some felt strongly that this was an issue that needed to be addressed, while others did acknowledge that it was an issue but didn't feel strongly about it. Some also added that more plastic pollution could cause political or economic problems on top of the obvious environmental damage. All of the interviewees were unsure of whether pollution was becoming more or less of a problem, which shows that this opportunity needs to be discussed more. Of the five, three said they recycled, with one already having committed to avoiding plastic straws. Two did not recycle, but understood the importance, and said they were willing to in the future to help this issue. As far as other sources of pollution, people quickly pointed out other plastics in general, Styrofoam, oil and chemical runoffs, as well as gases. One interviewee specified more that another large source of plastic pollution comes from deep-sea fishing nets. When I asked them who the fault of this issue, and solution, fell on, most replied that they hadn't ever considered that. Was this more an issue of consumers abusing the environment and needing to improve their recycling and plastic use culture? Or, is the government responsible for maintaining the environment and protecting it? When I clarified this question, they all agreed that it is a combination of the two. While consumers do need to be better about their plastic use, the government should also be making efforts to reduce pollution and improve the health of our oceans.