Generally people are not evil. They don't want to destroy the planet. But there is a powerful force at work that makes it difficult for most people to see clearly: culture.

People like to do things the "normal" way. I once gave a workshop to a group that demonstrated this. I gave the talk in Japan and half the people were Japanese. The other half were from western countries (mostly the US). I asked them to get into groups and debate the best way to take a shower. In Japan, people tend to shower while sitting on a small stool. In the west, people tend to shower standing up. I had to stop the discussion after 10 minutes because I was really afraid that some people might come to blows.

Why do people react so strongly to such a stupid subject? Is there really a "right" way to shower? The answer is culture. There are things in your life that are normal to you. You have done them that way your whole life. All your friends do them that way. Even your identity can be wrapped up in doing things that way.

In my talk I gave a fairly challenging definition of the word "culture": it is the set of things that you do or believe without question. They are the things that are "common sense" or obvious. Everybody does them that way. When pressed, most people will devise reasons for why their way is best, but really it is just a deep rooted belief. If someone holds a cultural belief that entrenches the opposite view it can literally lead to war.

What you do personally is only a drop in the bucket, as you say. If you wish to make a large difference, you will have to convince others to join you. But this is where you will run into problems.

For example, one could encourage people not to eat meat. This will have many environmental benefits. But eating meat in the west is normal. Most people grew up eating meat. Most people's friends eat meat. Many people have friends or relatives that depend on the meat industry. Some people can get violent if you suggest that they should be sitting down while having a shower. Imagine the reaction to telling them they shouldn't eat meat!

Most people shouldn't have a car. Maybe nobody should have a car. That would make a massive difference to the environment. But a car is normal for most people. Driving every day represents freedom and is really part of their identity (especially in North America). Telling people not to drive is like telling them to chop off their left hand. "Because it is better", is just not going to cut it even if you give a thousand examples of how it is better.

So what can you do? I think there actually is a way. Why do Japanese people sit down when they shower? I could come up with hundreds of reasons, but the reality is that in Japan this is the way you do it. It doesn't matter. You could stand up, sit down, lie down, hop on one leg. If it were normal, then people would want to do it that way. In Japan it became normal to shower sitting down.

Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to make the things necessary for a good and clean environment "normal". We can already see this happen over time. When I was a child, recycling wasn't a thing. In many places in the world it is now "normal". In Japan, if you don't separate your garbage your neighbours will actually yell at you. I have to separate my garbage into 7 different categories!!! But that's normal in my town.

All of these other things can be normal too, but it may take generations. If you wish to be a pioneer, you can just live your life and be happy with the decisions you make. You can show your friends and relatives that you can live a "normal", happy life this way. If it really does make sense, then someone else will try it. Help them succeed. Keep doing that and eventually the world can change.

It might not be fast enough to divert some bad things coming down the road, but it's better to start late than to sit around being depressed that you can't do anything ;-)