Fear and worry, part 2

Reading the NY Times online this morning I realized I had left one big thing off of my homemade info-graphic in yesterday's post.

Not knowing what to worry about and what to not worry about

The Times article generously offers "10 things to scratch from your worry list." The list includes things I would actually consider worrying about (cell-phone-induced brain cancer, for one) and fears that are a long way from making my list (notably, shark attacks and unmarked wormholes).

Recognizing that this article is clearly at least somewhat satirical, I couldn't help but get a little wound up by the discussion of the environmental impact of some everyday decisions: buying local vs long-haul food, paper vs plastic bags, car A/C vs open windows.

We are at a point where most people (at least most people I know) are concerned enough about "the environment" that they are willing to pause and consider making a more environmentally sound choice. The problem comes in knowing which choice that is.

It is rarely a straightforward question, and ultimately it ends up coming down to how you weigh tradeoffs against one another (eg, glass bottles are more recyclable than plastic ones but more greenhouse gas-intensive to transport).

And inevitably, just when we think we're being good, conscientious environmentalists using unbleached organic cloth napkins instead of paper towels, some jackass with a new analysis shows that the environmental impact of paper towels is actually lower because they biodegrade and tree farms absorb greenhouse gases and don't require irrigation, whereas organic cotton farms are water-intensive (and non-organic ones are hugely pest-and herbicide intensive) and washing & drying napkins uses water and energy and produces detergent and chemical runoff. You can't freaking win!

In light of all that, I think I will add one thing to the list of things that scare me: being an intolerably self-righteous and angry environmentalist.