Like the boy who cried wolf, environmental activists who loudly trumpet dangers that later prove false or exaggerated risk turning off the very constituents they are trying to mobilize. First things first. Our book shows people how to focus on those environmental choices that make the biggest difference. Because cars cause so much harm, even modest changes matter. Food is second only to transportation as a source of consumer-related environmental impacts.
Red meat causes especially high amounts of environmental damage for the nutrition it delivers.
But aware consumers should increasingly avoid using these items. UCS suggests that people stop worrying about choices that involve alternatives whose differences are insignificant. Non-disposable alternatives are always better, but they have found that people are too often worrying over trivial changes when the same amount of effort could be spent on choices that would reduce impacts much more. Their seven rules for responsible consumption focus on key principles for those who want to make choices that matter. If the purchase of a computer, answering machine or fax for the home is the obstacle preventing you from setting up telecommuting from your office, you should feel justified buying these things on environmental grounds.