Half a billion straws are used in the United States every day, according to a popular — but perhaps not the most scientific — estimate. The biggest buyer: the federal government, which buys more ...

Straws might seem insignificant, inspiring jokes about the plastic vs. paper debate, but the plastic straw has come to symbolize a global pollution crisis over the past decade. On Monday, President ...

Plastic straw partisans are now on the offensive in the straw wars. Monday evening, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies to halt their purchases of paper straws ...

This story was co-published with Grist, a nonprofit media organization covering climate, justice, and solutions. It was the face that launched a thousand plastic straw bans. The video begins with a ...

A decade ago, a video of a sea turtle with a plastic straw stuck in its nostril went viral, spurring a wave of activism aimed at curtailing plastic pollution. The disposable plastic straw became the ...

Plastic, then paper, now ... pasta? The humble straw that became a flashpoint in the broader battle over environmentalism continues to evolve. And while there’s not as much fanfare, nonplastic straws ...

Why the humble straw “issue” has so incensed the present administration and triggered an executive order more or less banning paper straws from federal buildings, in favor of plastic ones, is ...

Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. “It’s a ridiculous situation ...

This story is part of the Grist arts and culture series Remember When, a weeklong exploration of what happened to the climate solutions that once clogged our social feeds. This story was co-published ...