THE LAST STRAW —How Starbucks can change our culture for the planet’s best interests

Starbucks is a worldwide phenomenon. Not only does the company employ hundreds of thousands of people, it constitutes a brand that most urbanites embrace, nay, cherish.

Since Starbucks corporate policy has embraced the preservation of Mother Earth, perhaps they could help instill a different culture in the consumption of beverages for the massive number of the java-enamored. This change would mean one itty, bitty urge in the direction of conservation for their patrons, and more important to Starbucks, give itself another push in the name of coolbranding. In the process, it could save billions of tons of petroleum based waste.

I give you – the straw. When did the straw become an absolutely essential appurtenance for every beverage? God gave us lips for crying out loud! Unless you are a 2-year-old and are in need of a sippy cup, this utensil is superfluous.

Straws are made of plastic and yes, most plastic is petroleum based, although we are making huge strides in other compostable bio-based eating accessories. Starbucks is on the leading edge of this technology.

The reality is that only 27% of all plastics get recycled. The other 73% goes into landfills and particulate matter in the ocean.

The use of straws with beverages goes back to the Sumerians in 3000 BC. Straws were made of gold and lapiz and were presumably used to keep the settled matter at the bottom of home-brewed beer away from one’s palate. Modern day straws were patented by the creative and thirsty Marvin C. Stone, in 1888, whilst sipping a mint julep on his front porch on a hot day in Washington, DC. The straw of choice in those days was made from a type of rye grass. Although tremendously eco-friendly, Marvin did not care for the way it tainted his bourbon. He had the notion (after a few juleps I’m sure, as the most creative ideas appear at such auspicious moments) to take a strip of paper, wrap it around a pencil and apply glue, later perfecting his invention with wax.

Every beverage in most every corner bar and eatery provides you with a straw, even when one asks specifically for its deletion. Try it and you’ll see, even when you remind the well-intended server that you didn’t want a straw, they will take it out of your soda and throw it in the trash. When you order another drink, purposefully leaving the straw on your napkin to be used with the subsequent beverage, they will throw away the napkin and the straw, missing the point entirely.

The Starbucks staff has the wherewithal to not insert the straw into your drink. In fact, by company policy, they are not allowed to touch it. There is a bevy of straws lounging on the Starbucks condiment table covered in paper sheaths (provided by trees of course) for each customer to insert at their own discretion. My research points to the fact that nearly 99% of customers exercise that option.

But almost every other restaurant, diner, bar, coffee house, and deli will insert a straw in your drink, happily toss it in the trash when you are finished, and provide you with a brand new tubular utensil with your next order, even though you are drinking the same gin and tonic and possess the same lips.

This oral addiction has been totally engrained in the hospitality industry.

Paper straws are not common. They tend to get soggy, like the rye grass straw, especially with warm liquid. Take in point my Sikh friend who was in definite need of a straw for sipping his chai tea as his mustache and beard (the pruning of which is against his belief system) would coalesce foam remnants on his glorious grey facial cascade. The paper straw at Flora Grubb was a great and heartfelt concept but not exactly practical, not to mention the fact that they are not really earth-friendly either. They are derived from trees after all.

Sometimes a plastic straw is covered with a plastic sheath – both being discarded in regular trash (yikes, a double negative!).

Let’s say you spend your afternoon at Starbucks on your laptop and drink three Caramel Machiattos, extra espresso, low-fat whatevers. Most patrons will garner three straws. Since it is the same beverage and you have the same mouth, harboring the same germs, wouldn’t it be environmentally prudent to remove the straw from your first oral orgasmic experience and re-use it for the rest of your laptop jabbing afternoon? After all, it has been marinated. Not to mention, straws give you upper lip lines, like those found on smokers’ faces.

And, let’s not forget the cost (both fiscally and environmentally) of manufacturing the straw, transporting the little culprits, and the price of all that extra trash. Starbucks would not only look cool if they campaigned against straws, they would save tons of cash!

Are straws important for certain people like my Sikh friend and Stephen Hawking? Absolutely.

Are there millions of plastic straw particles swirling around in no less than five global garbage vortexes floating in our oceans? Yes.

Are they necessary for the general public? No.

Straws are occasionally appropriate. But, every day? With every beverage? For every person? No way. We have got to get a collective grip!!!

Starbucks has a very unique and perhaps THE most influential opportunity to affect this beverage application culture. Starbucks could implement a sincere start for cultural change for the benefit of our one and only planet. This cool, no-straw policy could create a huge branding in the positive and essential global direction, amassing necessary cultural changes. Just a little coercing from a giant like Starbucks (yes, there are over 500 Starbucks just in China!) could make a small stab at the reversal of climate change.

And right now, that’s all we’ve got – small stabs. But collectively, on a planet with billions of people, cultural changes could be the most influential.

One straw at a time.

Author and Conservationist, Brandon Wiggins

An Interesting Foray to the Chevron 2019 Shareholders Meeting

The Chevron National Headquarters in San Ramon is an imposing campus. On the morning of May 29, 2019, I left my absolutely horrid hotel, where I had spent a miserable night, via Uber to the nearby Marriot, where I supposed the bulk of the shareholders were staying since the meeting started at 8am. It was the case and we were shuttled about a mile to the Chevron Headquarters.

There were at least 60 armed guards, police, rangers and security agents stationed at the entrance guard gate. Oddly enough, the Chevron Corporate logo had been covered with a steel plate. Security took my purse and held it through the meeting. I went through a body scanner and then a personal scan by an non-uniformed woman who subsequently patted down my hair.

I had the impetus to go to this meeting upon receipt of a proxy statement from Chevron. I was vetted via email for proof that I actually owned Chevron stock. I only own one share but according to Adam Sandler and Mr. Deeds, that entitled me to entrance and hopefully the ability to hold Chevron to some accountability regarding the environment.

As it turned out, I was not the only one.

We were led into a large conference room and directed where to sit. The newly anointed Board of Directors came in last to assigned seating. They were sequestered from the general audience, even when using the restroom. It was not a diverse group, mostly older white men, dappled with the occasional Asian and African American, about 20% women. The Chairman of the Board was very ‘John Kerry-esque’. He was tall and handsome, intelligent and well spoken, able to think fast on his feet. A menace in Armani.

He gave a little speech, introduced his Board, showed us a little video about how much Chevron cares about the environment, touting their new ‘ever cleaner’ mantra, and then announced the question and answer period. There were about 20 people in line and we were given a ticket with its match in a bingo-style hopper. There were not enough time slots for everyone so it was a crap shoot if I would even get to speak. You were allowed exactly two minutes and then your microphone was turned off.

A nun from Philadelphia apparently comes every year to plead for the cause of fresh water as a human right. I discovered that Chevron’s practices in oil extraction use massive amounts of fresh water as well as contaminating water sources in extraction and refinery locations worldwide. I quickly inserted that issue in my unscripted speech about algae based biofuels, if I got the opportunity to speak.

They cut her microphone off at exactly the two minute limit. She continued to speak passionately off mic. The Chairman thanked her and she was dismissed.

Another round of speakers came from Ecuador where an entire village of indigenous peoples have been harmed beyond repair. The Chairman retorted to the accusations of the Ecuadorians with respect (or disrespect I should say) to their attorney. He mentioned casually that said attorney had been caught in a corruption scandal and was recently disbarred.

Next.

A woman dressed in manly attire spoke as an ambassador from the Union of Concerned Scientists, a global coalition. She referenced a letter written to Chevron about their massive involvement in climate change only to be dismissed and thanked after the Chairman called her ‘mister.’

Other speakers got their two minutes, almost all pleading their cases about Chevron’s part in climate change. The scripted Chairman stuck to his ‘ever cleaner’ slogan.

Only one time slot left. The other people in the queue looked at each other. Who was it going to be…?

“Number 210 please.” I looked at my ticket. It was me.

Now, I didn’t look like any of the other speakers. I was dressed in a suit and heels. I had been smiling throughout the meeting and trying to engage board members visually. When I got to the microphone, hoping that the mic couldn’t detect my heart beating out of my chest, I smiled and all of the board members turned around to look at me. They had been looking forward the entire meeting, not glancing backwards at the speakers.

I greeted the board, the chairman and the stockholders, then took a deep breath.

I was glad I was unscripted. it enabled me to focus on the new fresh water information I had received. I said roughly the following:

“Mr. Chairman, I would like to know the current status on your R&D into algae based biofuels. Since the use of those fuels can be easily implemented in any combustible engine, reduce the CO2emissions by at least 50%, be cultivated in non-arable land, and clean out all municipal wastewater from heavy metals to pesticides before it is released into the water system, what can we expect from Chevron in the future?”

I’m not sure if I spoke the full two minutes or I was just cut off, but apparently my speaking time was up. The tall handsome chairman smiled, thanked me for my interest, and said, “Well, the scale was just not there.”

I had gleaned from previous speeches that morning that Exxon Mobile was their nemesis. I put that knowledge to use.

Sans microphone, I spoke up. “Mr. Chairman, you are aware that Exxon Mobile has just invested a boatload of money into this field.”

The entire Board of Directors had eyes on me. Their interest had been enrolled.

“Yes,” he said. “I am aware of that. That was a big investment for them.” Then he half smiled like the Cheshire Cat. “We’ll see who the winners and losers are.”

I was the last speaker and the meeting was adjourned immediately after. You could say, I had the last word.

As chance would have it, there was no shuttle back to the hotel. I said goodbye to the many armed guards, police and security, thanked them for their service and set out on foot. A very nice man accompanied me as we were both going the same place. I learned that his wife was a new board member and they had flown in from London for the meeting.

We chatted in those ten or so blocks. He was curious about algae based biofuels as opposed to corn and other ethanol products. I explained to him the extreme water usage issue in those fuels. I enrolled him in my vision and he even bought my novel, Pursuit: Ya Kuwinda. My last words to him were, ‘Have your wife ask about algae based bio fuels – it’s a thing!”

The experience was enlightening and yet exactly as I had expected: corporate dollars decimating the planet for established and profitable policies. They are hell bent on extracting every drop of fossil fuel from the earth until it is depleted. What they are not taking in to account is that green energy isthe new economy. They should be putting every asset in to sustainable energy. The costs of climate change will far and away outspend any R&D today.

Now, I have a history of starting things. I went to the Board of Directors at Starbucks – yes, made it to Seattle – to get them to eradicate plastic straws. It took over eight years for them to incorporate that policy and I’m sure there were many other factors in their January 2019 policy of plastic straw eradication, but I like to think I had a hand in starting the movement. I did the same thing in the city of San Francisco, where I spoke to a middle school about plastics. Those kids, God bless ’em, went to the city council and started the movement for plastic straw eradication. They were successful in 2018. I also made a presentation to the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea about three years ago. You know where that went.

So I seem to start things. Let’s hope the deaf ears that heard my little Number 210 speech might one day open their eyes and see the future.

Yours in conservancy,

Brandon Wiggins

(Taken from The Book of Joy written with the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu)

The subject is neuroimaging research into a unified theory of the happy brain by Doctor Richard Davidson.

According to Dr. Davidson, there are four independent brain circuits that influence our lasting well being.

1) The first curcuit encompasses our ability to maintain positive states and positive emotions. The ability to maintain these positive traits directly impact one’s ability to experience happiness. The Dalai Lama and the Archbishop conject that the fastest way to this state is to start with love and compassion.

2) The second circuit is responsible for our ability to recover from negative states. One can be adept at maintaining positive states but may easily fall into an abyss of a negative state from which one has a hard time recovering. Being human in this world is difficult. The ability to overcome hardship is a definite challenge but humans have overcome unthinkable events in history and have managed to survive thus far.

3) The third circuit, independent but essential to the others, is our ability to focus and avoid mind-wandering. This has been influential for the invention and embracement of meditation. Neurological scans show intense brain chemistry changes when a subject is in a deep state of meditation.

4) The forth (and my personal favorite) circuit is connected to our ability to be generous. Yes, we have an entire brain circuit devoted just to generosity. It has been shown that when we help others or are helped by others, or even witness others being helped, the neurological circuit is triggered in a way that cannot be reproduced with any other stimuli.

According to Dr. Davidson, there is strong and compelling research that human beings come factory equipped for cooperation, compassion, and generosity.

The Archbishop and the Dalai Lama espouse that the ability and desire to cooperate – and be generous to others – should be harnessed personally, socially, and globally.

These enlightened men constantly strive to remind us that we are – in fact – one group.

Humanity.

This is why I am a Rotarian.

WHY LEAVES CHANGE COLORS AND OTHER INTERESTING PHENOMINA THAT ARE CAUSED BY A BOATLOAD OF CIRCUMSTANCES HAPPENING SIMULTANEOUSLY

The show exhibited by deciduous trees in the autumn is triggered by multiple ambient and chemical factors. Most people associate the splendor with cooler temperatures but in fact there are many different factors attributing to both the color change and the loos of foliage.

The process is an intricate dance of events beginning with the deciduous trees’ growth cycle. Most of these trees have a very short period of annual growth from stemming from overwintering buds. But the days must become long enough and the weather warm enough to support new growth. Most trees in the northern hemisphere have completed their annual growth by late June. The next year’s leaf buds are also set at this time. And will not open until there is enough of a chill for a long enough time followed by certain warm temperatures and certain amounts of daylight. These days are called GDD’s (growing degree days) which coerce and modify all kinds of organism’s behavior. Think of it as Mother Nature’s internal clock.

Oddly enough, it is not the daylight that triggers growing habit, it is the length of the dark period which prompts the cells near the juncture of the leaf and the stem to divide rapidly, but without causing expansion.

This abscission layer is a corky layer that blocks nutrients such as carbohydrates from being absorbed from the leaf to the branches. It also blocks the flow of nutrients and minerals from the roots to the leaves.

During the growing season, chlorophyll is constantly being replaced in the leaves. Chlorophyll breaks down with exposure to light so it must be manufactured constantly. When production of chlorophyll ceases and the connection between the leaf and the rest of the plant, the chlorophyll disappears. Thus when the color of the leaves change, it is not that the leaves are turning orange or red, they are losing chlorophyll.

During the summer, the chlorophyll masks the yellow pigments of the leaves (xanthophylls) and the orange pigments (carotenoids) which are exposed once the chlorophyll has ceased production. Red and purple pigments are manufactured in a different process involving anthocyanins and sugars trapped in the leaves.

As the season progresses, the cells in the abscission layer become dry and more cork like, causing the leaves to break off. Like chlorophyll, the other pigments break down with light exposure or are frozen leaving only the tannins, which are brown in color.

Dark hour length is by far not the only factor, it just heralds the beginning of the process. Temperature, sunlight, soil moisture as well as the GDD’s will influence the quality of the foliage display especially after the abscission layer has been formed. An early frost will destroy the machinery responsible for manufacturing anthocyanin. Drought can also trigger the early formation of the abscission layer.

The best weather conditions for a jubilant color display an wet growing season (spring) to early summer), followed by a dry cool autumn marked by warm days and cool but frostless nights will be rewarded with the best color show.

Here is the kicker. While the whole process of fall color is fairly well understood, the reason for it is less clear. Xanthophylls and carotenoids play an important role in photosynthesis by helping to capture light for carbohydrate manufacturing processes.

The benefits of anthocyanins are not understood.

Some entomologists postulate that the purpose of the plant’s evolutionary response is to warn pests. Other scientists believe that anthocyanins serve as a sunscreen to inhibit the loss of chlorophyll. Or perhaps to prevent frost injury to leaf tissues, or perhaps to limit water loss during dry spells. It would seem more evolutionarily beneficial for the species to remove all the carbohydrates they can muster from the leaf before letting it fall to the ground. If this were the case we would not see the red and purple pigments in say – a sugar maple.

So it is clear that the orange and yellow pigments are born from a completely different mechanism than the reds or purples. Who knew?

So the process embraces multiple factors. Many are consequential but how they interact defines the behavior of the organism. As a member of the human organism species. It is apparent that my growing habit, my triggers to manufacture necessary nutrients, and my abscission layer shedding unnecessary baggage in favor of setting up future growth is dependent upon many factors – most of which are out of my immediate control.

Also as a human, I am compelled to believe that in my infinite wisdom, I can recognize the extraneous factors and how I am affected by them. If that were the case, I could measure and modify my GDD’s to suit a more robust growing season.

Alas, that turns out not to be the case.

I am positive that the deciduous tree has a better grasp of the situation.