Between the Visco girls and environmentalists, plastic straws have been in the news a lot lately. Because of this, metal straws have become a popular alternative. But there are downfalls to these products. First off, metal straws have already killed someone. Elena Struthers-Gardner, a woman in the United Kingdom, was drinking from a jar-like container that had a metal straw fixed in place. She slipped and the straw was stabbed into her eye, piercing her eye and entering her brain. In order to better understand why this happened, we have to look at the shape of the straw. When looking online we found that most of these straws were slightly sloped at the end in a process known as bevelling. This process is used on swords to give them an edge. This makes the straws, which are already pretty good at stabbing things, sharper and more able to pierce through something. 

Another reason metal straws are not environmentally friendly is due to the waste that is created by transporting these materials, or anything metal for that matter. Unfortunately, mining is not like it appears in video games. Mining any type of metal takes machines that require chemicals running through them that can be harmful to the environment. The carbon footprint being left behind by big ships that transport these straws is also one of the worst in the world contributing to 26% of global carbon emissions. So maybe we should broaden our views of helping the environment, and weigh the pros and cons before you purchase metal reusable straws