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The world needs changing! No one (other than perhaps Bush and other Republican goons) can deny that things—especially those relating to the environment—are in a sorry state. Groups like Greenpeace, Peta, Unicef, Al Gore and the Alliance for Climate Protection et al. are each taking care of a segment of the major issues, ensuring that attention gets diverted to these causes, but in their fight to educate and bring forth major shifts in our habits and attitudes, some of the smaller fights or contributing factors to some of these big issues get overlooked.

That is why I am proposing the Anti-Coffee Stirrer Effort! Why? Because I figure that if I can stop people from using coffee stirrers, I will have helped to make quite a positive impact on the environment. Of course, I’m not targeting anything one uses to stir his/her coffee; spoons, sticks or whatever implements that get washed and reused are fine with me. However, plastic and wood stirrers that get instantly tossed out should be banned!

Although I am still trying to unearth worthwhile coffee stirrer related statistics substantiating the need to reduce (and hopefully eradicate) their usage, one can very well imagine the amount of plastic and wood that gets tossed in garbage pails all over the world on a daily basis, and this after being barely dipped and twirled—more as a compulsion than a necessity—in coffee.

“But what about my coffee?” you ask. Don’t worry; a world without stirrers won’t imply that you’ll be left to drink a two or three-tiered coffee! I have been enjoying perfectly mixed coffee for the past 16 + years without ever relying on a stirrer.

Here’s a secret very few people seem to know:
Put your sugar and milk in your cup before pouring the coffee! Then pour your coffee in the cup so that the contents get stirred and blended i.e. don’t pour in the coffee like you do with beer when you don’t want any foamy head; do the opposite! And it's the same deal for those of you that are relying on a majority of the differing coffee vending machines to get that required dose—put your milk and sugar in the cup first, then let the machine mix it all for you as it burbles the coffee into your cup.

And if you’re going to put a lid on your coffee, that’s just one more reason to avoid a stirrer. Why not just hold the lid firmly and give your cup a couple of shakes?

I haven’t mentioned anything in regards to reusable mugs as I figure most people should know about them. Nonetheless, I will simply say this: please use them!

I’ll eventually come back with stats to support my cause, but until then, please email this post to any habitual coffee drinker you know and let’s change the world!