4 Myths About Sustainability: And Why They're Hurting the Environment

I was recently shopping at my neighborhood pet store in Colorado when the clerk asked if I needed a bag. With two dogs pulling their leashes and an armful of new toys, I said yes. When she whipped out a paper bag, the state's ban on plastic bags came up.

"We had to throw out all our plastic bags due to the new regulations," she said.

Wait, what!?

The comment stunned me. I was sure the store staff would have used the remaining plastic bags rather than throwing them in the garbage. Why are plastic bags that have already been manufactured being sent to landfills rather than, perhaps, another state with less strict regulations?

The seemingly knee-jerk decision to follow state regulations and dump perfectly fine bags into a landfill is emblematic of policies and practices driven more by optics than common sense while undermining real progress to make strides in cutting our carbon emissions.

As corporations, governments, and citizens try to be more sustainable, they often fall prey to many misguided beliefs about sustainability, undermining the progress they hope to make.

These are four sustainability myths that should be dispelled.

Myth 1: All plastic is terrible for the environment and must be banned.

Plastic waste is a huge problem — there is no doubt about that. But does banning straws and plastic bags really make a difference?

You've probably heard about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a massive island of floating debris between Hawaii and California about three times the size of France. Most of it is plastic. But come to find out, most of this plastic isn't consumer waste. It actually comes from commercial fishing.

Should we feel like Planet Killers every time we forget our tote bags at the grocery store? Not so fast. You will need to use those totes you have more than 7,100 times to neutralize their carbon footprint. So, do we have to feel awful about every consumer choice we make?

First, plastic has real benefits — it extends food freshness, enables sterilized medical supplies, allows for cheap, versatile building material, and makes vehicles lighter, limiting the fuel they burn.

The solution to plastic pollution is not to get rid of it like the well-meaning managers at my local pet store; it's being wise about how we dispose of it so it doesn't end up in our water and potentially injure wildlife. This will also require some major industrial attention.

Myth 2: Eating organic food is better for the environment.

Organic food has swelled in popularity in the U.S. In 2022, sales of organic food were about $134.76 billion, up from nearly $18 billion in 2000. This has meant many consumers are buying healthier food, free of pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

Organic food is clearly good for you, but how good is it for the planet? That's where it gets more complicated.

Environmental experts consider organic farming a more sustainable alternative to traditional food production, resulting in better soil quality and reduced fertilizer or pesticide runoff pollution. But it has its trade-offs. For one, lower crop yields per acre mean more land is needed to grow the same amount of food. Organic food is considerably more expensive, limiting the number of people accessing it.

Also, organic food goes to waste more easily. For example, GMO-developed FLVR SAVR tomatoes have been demonized because they were developed using science. But that science keeps the tomato from rotting faster and provides a longer shelf life. And there's no evidence that these FLVR SAVR tomatoes are unsafe. The only difference is that scientists helped speed up the evolutionary process.

Myth 3: Being eco-responsible means you shouldn't fly.

If you're a frequent flyer, a part of your carbon footprint may come from flying the friendly skies. The combustion of jet fuel in aircraft engines causes CO2 to escape into the atmosphere, making air travel a target of some climate change activists.

Even celebrities committed to sustainability, such as Taylor Swift and Leonardo DiCaprio, have been criticized for gallivanting on their private jets.

However, focusing on air travel as a major source of climate change misses the landing. Only about 2.4% of all global CO2 emissions come from planes. Compare that number to the 34% of carbon emissions emitted by electricity and heat generation and the 22% created by industry. Likely, Taylor's touring buses that schlep her production equipment from city to city are more of an issue than her private jet use — unless they are EVs. But then we get into our antiquated electrical grid...

Sure, planes are a problem, which is why many airlines have pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. But they're not an imminent threat. If you really want to impact the environment, drive less, walk, bike, and take public transportation more.

Myth 4: Consumerism is ruining the planet.

Many believe that our consumer habits are driving climate change. They point to the 8,000 tons of wrapping paper, about 50,000 trees, used to wrap gifts yearly, or that household waste increases by more than 25% from Thanksgiving to New Year's.

But while consumerism plays a small role in global warming, this argument shifts attention away from larger, more systemic causes.

You can reduce the number of presents you wrap, but that will not dent the greenhouse gas emissions created by coal and other fossil fuels. You can also send fewer greeting cards, but that will have almost zero effect on the massive emissions from heating and cooling your home.

The danger of focusing on consumerism as a foe is that it makes people feel guilty about doing something that doesn't make a difference anyway while diverting their focus from the things that matter.

The bottom line: Be rational when it comes to sustainability. You don't have to be perfect. But you can be smart. Ask yourself, what's the one thing you can do to help save the planet today? Cut back on driving. Shop from your refrigerator. Reuse a plastic bag. It really does make a difference.