Disclaimer: Information contained throughout The Divorce Lawyer Directory is intended to generally inform you about divorce law and introduce you to divorce attorneys throughout Virginia. The information regarding divorce and divorce law is not meant to be taken as legal advice. Contact us to speak with an experienced divorce attorney in Virginia.
By now you are probably aware of the push for a straw ban. Groups such as The Last Plastic Straw and StrawFree are among many organizations and activists working to enact national or international straw bans. The initiatives have had mixed reactions, with cities such as Seattle and New York immediately looking into (and in Seattle’s case, passing) bans while others resist the change and proposed measures. Some states, including Michigan, have gone so far as enacting preemptive laws to make it difficult for individual cities or counties to pass their own bans. For many proponents of the bans, this is understandably concerning, however, it is important to examine a couple angles of the straw ban. So, instead of listing more facts about the environmental impact of straws —which are numerous and now easily researchable — I’m going to cut to the chase with three important things to think about.
It’s pretty agreed upon by environmentalists and scientists that limiting plastic waste is essential for the health of wildlife and the planet. Alongside things like plastic bags and single use utensils, plastic straws seem like a no-brainer; they are used regularly and easily replaceable by more sustainable options such as metal, paper, and silicone. However, as with most things, it’s not as black and white as straws=bad. One of the biggest arguments against straw bans is coming from the disability community. Though there are a range of sustainable alternatives that work for able-bodied individuals, for those with disabilities, plastic and bendable straws are often essential. At the moment, there are no sustainable substitutes that are both as durable and malleable as plastic straws and many disabilities rights activists are worries that straw bans, while well-intentioned, will unintentionally and severely disadvantage a large subset of people.
As the hot-button issue of 2018, straw bans are receiving tons of attention and everyone from cities to Starbucks are promising rapid action. While immediate action is great and limiting straws certainly targets a large source of plastic waste, there is worry that straw bans can give a false sense of accomplishment. Many experts and activists are worried that once a ban is achieved people will move on rather than forward, making a modest impact on only one section of the much larger issue of plastic waste.
Despite the last two points sounding a bit doom and gloom for straw bans, don’t get discouraged! Whether through outright bans or more individual efforts of counties, cities, consumers, and corporations, limiting plastic straws is a good step for the environment. As these issues come up in your area, it’s important to look at them as a nuanced but also a chance for collaborative change and forward momentum in the fight to save the environment.
For more information on straw bans, check out any of the organizations, national or local, working to limit plastic waste and think about skipping the straw next time you’re out.
Big businesses dominate the news cycle: Amazon’s buyout of Whole Foods, Apple without Steve Jobs, the perils and pluses of Facebook Live. Because of this, it’s sometimes too easy to forget about the small businesses; yet, they might be more influential than we give them credit for. A recent infographic in 269 Magazine shows that 99.6% of businesses in the state of Michigan are small businesses, and 49.8% of the Michigan workforce is employed by those businesses. I don’t know about you, but I was shocked at how high that number is, almost half of Michigan is tied to small businesses
With those kind of numbers, the amount of money flowing locally must be impressive too. In fact, according to local giant Quicken Loans, for every $100 spent at a small business, $70 stay within the local economy as opposed to $43 with non-local businesses. It’s pretty hard to beat a 70% retention rate, especially when you think about the human component of your local economy. That $70 is going into things like paying friends and family who work locally, maintaining the stores on main street that are unique to your town, and the local artists and artisans who sell to those stores. Plus, it’s been shown that multiple small business bring more local jobs with them than one large chain store. So those businesses are helping build robust local economies and a diverse range of jobs.
Really what this all comes down to is, shopping local is great! You can confidently support the people and town you love when you know that you’re part of what is keeping southwest Michigan so interesting. And for our part, we’re proud to be one of the small businesses employing half of the Calhoun county and Michigan workforce.
“Small Business Saturday & How it Impacts your Local Economy” Zing by Quicken Loans, 23 November 2016
My mother-in-law painted this ornament, and it is of me in one of my renaissance costumes. Picture #12: Counted cross stich ornament
Character selection is open for The Night In Question! Almost everyone who bought a standard ticket should have gotten their invites to sign up for our character selection tool Larpweaver. This tool will help you choose a character that fits your style and limits.
For the last few months, we’ve been donating tickets to fan clubs for auctions or give-aways – and they have brought in over $5000 for charity total! We’ve always had give-aways for podcasts and other partners. If you won one of these tickets, please redeem that the ticketing website by entering the code so you get on the list and get your invitation to choose your character.
If you won one of our special red or black envelope characters, please contact us at info@jackalope-larp.com if you haven’t already. If you already contacted us, you will be receiving your invites to join the system soon, along with your custom characters pre-built.