PORT TOWNSEND — Some people seek to change the world in a big way. Milo Cress’ ambition begins and ends at every restaurant table.
The 12-year-old from Boulder, Colo., made several Port Townsend appearances last week with the message that people don’t need a straw every time they take a drink.
The inclusion of a straw with every glass served represents a waste of resources, he said.
“Here’s the thing: The planet is not a place that kids will inherit at some point far off into the distant future,” Milo said to about 30 members of the Students for Sustainability at Port Townsend High School on Thursday.
“We live here right now, and we share this planet already.”
Milo started the “Be Straw Free” campaign when he was 9 and has since garnered a national reputation as an environmental activist.
The seventh-grade student, who was on a West Coast tour, was sponsored in Port Townsend by the Port Townsend Marine Science Center.
On Thursday, Milo also spoke to students at Blue Heron Middle School.
On Friday, he appeared at Sunfield Farm and Waldorf School and Chimacum Elementary School.
On Saturday, he gave a presentation at the Port Townsend Farmers Market, followed by a meet-and-greet on the beach near the Port Townsend Marine Science Center at Fort Worden State Park.
Milo’s straw-free campaign began when he was eating at a restaurant with his mother, O’dale Cress.
He asked his mother why there was a straw with every drink, commenting that it was a waste.
He asked the restaurant owner about it. The man told him that from then on, he’d give customers a choice.
Since then, Milo has talked to hundreds of restaurant owners and found that 50 percent to 80 percent of all customers didn’t take a straw when given the choice.
“Asking people if they want straws is a small step for each restaurant but a huge step for the planet,” he said.
As the idea developed, Milo did his research, finding that 500 million straws are used and discarded each day in the U.S.
This is enough to fill 46,000 school buses which, if placed end to end, would stretch about 325 miles.
“It seems wasteful to make a product that will be used for just 15 minutes but will be here on Earth, somewhere on Earth, long after my grandchildren are born,” he said.
Milo, along with his mother, travel in a Honda Fit on tour.
His current tour has taken them through California, Oregon and Washington. They plan to be back in Colorado by the end of this month.
The pair has previously traveled to Europe and Australia, financing their journeys through donations and work exchanges.
Milo combines his education between a home-school and classroom format, depending on his schedule.
Cress gives a prepared speech the old-fashioned way, from a stack of 3-inch-by-5-inch cards, which he mixes up and edits as the situation warrants.
“I consider the demographic,” he said after his speech at the high school.
“I wouldn’t give the same speech I gave today if I were talking to people in the restaurant industry.”
He encouraged the class to stay involved in important issues.
“When I first started the project, I didn’t think anyone would want to listen to what a kid has to say, but I found that being a kid can be an advantage,” he said.
“Both kids and adults love to hear about and participate in projects that were started by kids.
“When we choose to participate in projects that are important to us, it will affect our planet and our lives.
“But when we choose not to participate, we are also shaping the future because we are allowing others to make all the decisions about the direction our planet will take.”
Milo said he is interested in hearing from the public and answering questions.
For more information, visit www.bestrawfree.org or email milo@bestrawfree.org.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.