In 2018, Shelby O’Neil won the 2018 National Gold Award, the highest honor available in the Girl Scouts, while attending San Benito High School. O’Neil won for her work with Jr. Ocean Guardians, a group she founded to tackle waste and defend the environment.
She started a movement called No Straw November, which asked people not to use plastic straws for the month. The state adopted a resolution in September 2018 that made No Straw November official, and in 2019 legislators passed AB 1884, prohibiting full-service restaurants from providing single-use plastic straws unless requested. O’Neil testified before the state Assembly prior to its passage.
Now a freshman at UC-Berkeley, O’Neil is taking her environmental efforts to Sesame Street, where she’ll appear in the May 9 episode.
“It is about nature, it shows kids on the beach and cleaning it,” she said. “It’s about showing them the fun of being outside.”
BenitoLink caught up with O’Neil for Earth Day to talk about her environmental advocacy.
BENITOLINK: Can you tell us a little about what No Straw November is?
O’NEIL: It is more of a self-reflection movement, to have people understand their own personal impact regarding plastic pollution. Have them see how much they contribute and how much they can cut back. I challenge people for the whole month of November to skip using plastic straws. I ask them to keep track of how many straws they were offered, how many they skipped and how many they potentially could have used. Also being more aware of one part of the environment makes them more in tune with their surroundings, and they are likely to notice nature.
Why straws and not something else like paper to-go cups?
When I started my campaign, straws were not really a known issue. We know now they are. I started this when I was around 15, I was lucky enough to be in the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s programs when I was growing up and it was where I got my ocean education and developed my mindset.
What did the stats look like on your no-straw challenge?
It was really hard for some people to record data, but I have data from the corporations I worked with and it’s about 32 million single-use straws eliminated per year.
Do you still consider yourself an activist?
I don’t think I will ever be at the point of my life where I won’t be an activist, it is who I am. I have put a lot of emphasis on academics now though. I was lucky enough to go to New York last year to speak at the Good Housekeeping Raise the Green Bar Summit. The youth panel I was on was the last panel and I felt people were relieved, thinking ‘things are really happening.’
What was it like working with corporations on single-use straws?
I did that for Girl Scouts. After working in schools talking with kids about environmental issues, I wanted to do something more challenging and as I was looking around I saw the straw waste. I started to email the CEOs of large companies such as Alaska and Delta Airlines to cut back on their straw usage. Most were receptive because I was able to back up my request with science. The aquarium education is very real, so I knew the science.
Did you get any local negative feedback?
Some. I am a proud Haybaler, but I was known on campus as the Straw Girl. I was asked ‘why not tackle climate change?’ without those asking realizing the production of plastic contributes to global warming. The school as a whole was very supportive. I worked a lot with Superintendent Shawn Tennenbaum and with science teacher and Environmental Club adviser Chip Gauvreau.
How do you think your effort has contributed to Earth Day?
I think I have contributed to Earth Day not only by cutting down pollution, but by educating our future generation. By equipping the youth with knowledge and understanding of our world issues we can hopefully foster future innovators to solve those issues.
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