As little kids, Carter and Olivia were inspired by idea to heal the planet and make the better word. Today, as teenagers, they are still fighting. With new campaign: “One Less Straw” they want to help in solving global plastic waste problem, with a focus on plastic straws.
Sometimes a couple of kids can help change the world. Siblings Carter and Olivia Ries founded their nonprofit One More Generation (OMG) in 2009, when they were just 8 and 7 years old, out of a desire to protect the world’s endangered species. Their journey to heal the planet has taken them around the world, from assisting injured wildlife after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil-spill disaster to delivering thousands of handwritten letters to South Africa’s President Zuma, imploring him to do more to end rhino poaching. Last year Carter and Olivia, now 17 and 16, pointed their attention at one important solution for helping wildlife: getting people and businesses to reduce or phase out their use of disposable plastic, most notably straws, which have been known to injure or kill animals around the world. Through their One Less Straw campaign, the Georgia-based teens have worked with individual consumers and businesses around the country and the world on issues related to plastic consumption. Carter and Olivia spoke with The Revelator to discuss their campaign, how they work to change minds and habits, and what they see for the future. Your One Less Straw campaign has really taken off, and several other organizations have joined the call to help reduce the amount of straws or other plastic items from our dinner tables. Are you satisfied with how far things have come so far or do you still see a lot of work left to do? Olivia: Yes, we’re very satisfied with how things are going so far. We started back in October of last year and we’ve had many big organizations partnered up with us. I do believe we have some more work to do. We’d like to reach out to even more people over time and educate more of today’s […]
