Originally Posted by
noglider
Your complaint is about a fringe element that doesn't have much influence. Focus on the important stuff, OK?
The biggest source of greenhouse gases worldwide is cows. I don't advocate anything like a vegetarian diet, but we would do well if we just ate less meat, especially beef. Such high scale beef production wouldn't be possible without gigantic government subsidies which are well intended but very misguided. In the western US, cows graze on federal land, rent-free.
Its ironic you used that as an example.
A few weeks ago at a bike shop, I overhead another customer saying he wanted to trade or sell his Brooks saddle because he recently became a vegan due to concerns over the environment and no longer felt comfortable using a leather saddle.
Now clearly the lowest impact solution is to continue using what's already in hand rather than consume more, but acting on an ideology was more important than actual substance.
This isn't a thought process I view as being productive, but its pervasive in those pushing for major changes in a fever of "we must act now".