14 MYTHS ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT
A lot has been said about the environment. Actually, that is an understatement. It seems like you cant make it five minutes on a news site without some sort of story that deals with the environment. It’s a hot topic for them because of how much controversy it stirs up. Any time there is a polarizing topic the media will swoop in on it because it will do two thing. It will get people to click on it because they strongly agree with it, or it will get clicks because people hate it. Either way, clicks are clicks. And more clicks means more ad revenue.
Because of those motives, a massive amount of misinformation swirls around the topic of the environment. Is climate change real? Do we need to go green? Are electric cars any better? It could go on and on.
While I am certainly not a complete expert and should never be regarded as the ultimate authority on the subject, I did want to shed some light on the most common myths that you see from both sides of the aisle. Bending the truth to fit your motives is certainly not monopolized by any one political party, so let’s take a look at some of the things that re said, and where the actual truth lies.
1. Buying Local Produce helps the Environment
Like most items on this list, the answer is not black and white. Buying local produce can certainly be a great thing, for the local economy, and for the environment. The problem is that the environmental friendliness of local produce hinges on whether consumers will actually stick to eating the produce that SHOULD be grown locally.
It is best explained by looking around the country. There is a reason Iowa is known for corn. Kansas is known for wheat. Idaho for potatoes etc. Those things grow well there. Quite simply put, it takes less fertilizer, less pesticide, less water, and less effort to grow those things in those areas than it would elsewhere. Different climates, and different soil types are suited to growing certain kinds of food. So while local farms are wonderful, they aren’t the most efficient means of producing food. If you are totally fine only eating the kinds of food that grow well in your area, local farms will win, but if you live in Arizona, and you want some raspberries, you will do better to have them imported from Washington.
2. Cotton Grocery Bags are Better
The part about these bags that nobody wants to talk about, is how many resources are consumed in making them. A Danish study found that the amount of fertilizer used in producing the organic cotton in the bags, contributed significantly more pollution to water than the production of plastic bags. That being said, plastic bags are a big problem. But the best solution may simply be finding good ways to repurpose them and keep them out of the oceans.
3. Paper Bags Are Better Than Plastic
Paper seems more natural than plastic. It feels like its one rain drop away from being turned right back into pulp and becoming one with the planet again. While they may be easier to get rid of, the amount of greenhouse gasses that result from producing them is actually significantly higher than the gasses produced when making plastic bags.
The best solution when it comes to grocery bags is to find durable reusable bags made from recycled materials. And on the occasion that you need to use a plastic bag, make sure to dispose of it properly and have it collected for recycling.
4. Honeybee Populations are Collapsing
My brother tends bees. He loves to talk about bees. He loves to protect bees. But most of the sources making this statement just simply know nothing about bees. This one just plain and simple isn’t true. In fact, the total population of bees is at a 20 year high. The part that IS true, is that hives are dying faster than they used to. But beekeepers are replacing those hives at a very good rate.
5. Population Growth is Increasing Exponentially
Another myth that is just plain wrong. This rate peaked in the 1970’s and has been steadily declining since then. The data actually suggests that our population will peak sometime in this century. Many economists actually are struggling to answer the questions that come from dealing with a declining population.
6. Corporations are All Anti-Environment
There are certainly plenty of bad actors in this field. BUT one third of major companies have sustainability mandates, and over half of the largest companies in the world actually produce sustainability reports annually.
7. People Who Don’t Support Environmental Programs Are Stupid
A relatively large sample of US adults determined that in fact the opposite was true. Those who responded that they were not concerned about the environment actually scored better in the math and science portions. You may not agree with people of that opinion, but do not make the mistake that they are stupid.
8. Products Labelled Green Are Better
This label means nothing. Try to look up the organization responsible for giving these labels. They don’t exist. It is 100% marketing propaganda, and while they product it is stamped on may, or may not be better for the environment, the label is completely meaningless.
9. Washing Dishes By Hand Saves Water
Your heart may be in the right place if you are doing this. But modern dishwashers are so so much better at conserving water than you are. Even if you meticulously turn the sink on and off while washing. Or if you just fill the sink once and wash all your dishes. That stainless steel cube is scientifically engineered to save water in a way that we feeble humans will never be able to replicate.
10. Biodiversity is Declining
Species are certainly going extinct. But there is little to no evidence to suggest that the overall number of species on the planet has declined in the past 100 years. In fact, it really just hasn’t changed much at all.
11. It’s All About Recycling
This was definitely the message that I was fed in elementary school. Recycling can be a big part of sustainability, but with conflicting reports starting to emerge about what actually happens to our recyclables, there is some increasing concern that it may not do as much as we think it does. In reality more effort needs to be placed on reuse and reduce. The more we can reduce the overall amount of stuff made, and the waste that comes along with it, the less worry we need to have over where the waste goes. Hopefully all of that packaging truly is being recycled when we put it in the bin, but since we cant be sure, try to put less in the bin to begin with.
12. Carbon Offsets Are A Great Way To Solve The Problem
Stay with me here, but have you ever heard of indulgences? The idea was that the church would effectively sell you the right to commit a sin. For the right price you could effectively get away with anything you wanted in God’s eyes. They were one of Martin Luther’s big issues with the church. Well, carbon offsets are in many ways the 21st century equivalent. For the right price you can wash away any of your environmental sins by buying some coupons that represent trees being planted in Brazil.
Not that planting trees in Brazil is bad. It’s actually fantastic. We should all be doing more of it. It’s just that carbon offsets allow for the inherent problem to continue. They are the proverbial band aid treating the symptom rather than the medicine that treats the cause. They serve a purpose in our current world as we transition to cleaner living and business practices, but they cannot be viewed as the long-term solution.
13. I Can’t Make Any Difference
Honestly you may be kind of right if you believe this one. You can make all the effort in the world, and it probably won’t make any measurable difference. But the danger of this mindset should be apparent. If EVERYONE felt that way, we would quickly be headed for disaster. There are countless things you can be doing to improve your personal environmental footprint. And the same concept holds true. If EVERYONE did those things, we could make a huge impact in protecting the planet.
Some of the simplest things you can do are things like eating less beef and more chicken. Carpooling to work. Insulating your house. Or aligning your investment portfolio to greener investments. They are all small things, but the small things add up.
If you are interested in learning more about what kind of difference green investing can make, click on the what we do tab above to read more about the green series of portfolios we offer. We aim to provide a diverse portfolio that reduces the overall carbon footprint of an index fund by over 80%.
14. The Damage Is Done With No Hope Of Fixing It
If there was any myth, I would hope to dispel it would be this one. While the impact of the past 200 years on the planet has been substantial. Devastatingly substantial even, we can still fix it.
There are two main reasons to be hopeful. First, as awareness of the problem has risen, there has been a noticeable change in the environment. While most of the measurables are still ticking in the wrong direction, they are doing so at a slower pace than in the past. That means we are indeed on the path to creating meaningful change.
The second reason to be hopeful lies in the future. We humans have proven remarkably adept at innovating ourselves out of problems. We already see new technologies emerging from all parts of the globe hoping to solve the problems plaguing our planet. These range from improvements to current technology like solar panels and batteries, to completely new innovations that fundamentally change the way we live our lives. It is one of my great hopes that we will continue to see a trend towards technology that improves our environmental capabilities.
The only thing that can totally prevent us from being able to fix the problem, would be if too many people believe this very myth. If we all give up and stop doing the little things in our daily life, then there truly will be no hope left.