Serious questions about "going green," "reducing carbon footprint," etc
I understand the climate crisis and my wife and I are making efforts to do whatever we can to help slow down climate change. Having said that, sometimes I have questions about some of the things we are doing; I don't know whether anybody is doing the research to make sure that the net effect is actually positive.
I'll give an example: In an effort to cut down on our use of disposable paper products, my wife purchased "non-paper towels" and "non-napkins" off Etsy. For those not in the know, these are cloth versions of the items mentioned. But, if we use those, we also have to launder them. How much does laundering damage the environment? It produces heat, it utilizes chemicals produced at who-knows-what carbon footprint and putting who-knows-what kind of pollution into the air, etc. Has anybody actually done the math to compare the carbon footprint of producing and disposing of paper towels and napkins versus producing cloth versions, using and laundering cloth versions? Such a calculus would also have to include the carbon footprint of the production of these goods, moving of laundry soap to stores via trucks, etc.
I mean, on the surface it sure seems like it's a good idea, but I am just wondering whether anybody has gone below the surface.
Here's another example: Stopping production of the pipeline because of environmental concerns seems, on the surface, like it was a good idea. But then if you think about it, gas that would have come through the pipeline now has to be moved on large tanker trucks that are spewing diesel fuel into the air, increasing traffic on highways which causes all the cars on the highway to release more fumes, etc. Did anybody think this completely through before shutting down the pipeline?
Electric cars. Where does the electricity come from to power electric cars? Doesn't it come from burning fossil fuels? What will be the environmental cost of building the infrastructure required to make enough filling stations to fuel electric vehicles? What about battery production for said cars? How much of a carbon footprint does the making the batteries produce? What happens to the batteries and the cars when the batteries die? How many years will it take after everybody has an electric car before we have paid back the damage we did converting? Is anybody looking at this?
The only things I am doing on a regular basis that I am absolutely sure are reducing my carbon footprint are these: 1) shaving with a straight razor, 2) hypermiling, and 3) recycling waste.
I am pretty sure that using a reusable container for all my drinking water instead of drinking bottled water is likely helping, as well.
Does anybody know the answers to any of these questions? Or do you know whether somebody is actually crunching all the numbers in a realistic scenario to make sure that we don't do more harm than good?
"We are not provided with wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness which no one else can take for us, an effort which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world." --M. Proust