23 Well-Intentioned Acts That Don't Make Things Better

Look, we get it; everybody, for whatever reason, tries to do some good for our planet. Whether out of self-righteousness or truly noble intentions, the end result is the same: You're really dicking the rest of us over.

How, exactly? Glad you asked!

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Entry by AM Smiley

Want to save the planet? Use reusable grocery bags. Be prepared to use them a lot. Reusable bags require between 28 and 200 times as much energy to pr

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Entry by AM Smiley

Instead of a vacation, you should go help out in a third-world country. That is, if you want to do some damage. Squads of well-intended tourists build

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Entry by AM Smiley

After an oil spill, volunteers scramble to wash oil off birds. Those volunteers do more harm than good. During the Gulf spill, inexperienced cleanup c

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Entry by AM Smiley

Want to feel better about your gasoline footprint? Try biofuel. Hope you're not a fan of the planet. 90% of biofuel is made with corn ethanol. Growing

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Entry by AM Smiley

If you buy local, you'll save the energy wasted on transporting food. But growing food is much more wasteful. The thing is, people expect to enjoy the

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Entry by AM Smiley

23 Well-Intentioned Acts That Don't Make Things Better

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Entry by AM Smiley

You might feel good about donating to Wounded Warrior Project. WARRIOR COUNDED 8onsi0 PROJECT plrempopund Don't. They'll waste your money. While compa

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Entry by AM Smiley

Your optician probably asks you to donate your old glasses. Doing SO is useless, at best. Research into the costs of recycling spectacles has shown th

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Entry by AM Smiley

You might be tempted to pick a charity that has low overhead. Not SO fast. You might assume that having less overhead means a charity is more effectiv

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Entry by AM Smiley

When you donate, you can earmark your money for a cause. I OCtE Man oueant But you really shouldn't. Charity funding tends to be a lot like high schoo

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Entry by AM Smiley

In 2005, England launched the Beat Bullying campaign. BLLLYINC BEAT And a bunch of kids got bullied. The problem was, the bright blue Beat Bullying wr

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Entry by AM Smiley

Nebraska's safe-haven law applied to any child up to age 18. NO YES So parents started dumping their teens. The idea behind safe-haven laws is that ra

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Entry by AM Smiley

What could be healthier and more natural than bamboo clothing? A lot of things, it turns out. In order to turn them into textiles, bamboo materials fi

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Entry by AM Smiley

Worried about landfills? Buy some green disposable diapers. Nouveau HUGGIES DLAPERS COUCHES PANALES pure & natural organic cotton coton bio algodon

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Entry by AM Smiley

23 Well-Intentioned Acts That Don't Make Things Better

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Entry by AM Smiley

Buying organic food sounds healthy and good for the planet. Surprisingly, it isn't. Not only is there no evidence to support the idea that organically

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Entry by AM Smiley

Hybrid cars are fuel-efficient and better for the environment. Except when they don't save fuel or the planet. Putting aside the environmental damage

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Entry by AM Smiley

You might be tempted to send supplies when there's a disaster. Emergency workers call that the second disaster. After the Sandy Hook school shooting

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Entry by AM Smiley

We tried teaching schoolkids to Just Say No to drugs. DARE TO RESIST DRUGS It made them more likely to use drugs. Drug Abuse Resistance Education, o

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Entry by AM Smiley

If you want to kill germs, you use antibacterial soap. Spasoap Liquid Soap Antibacterial But using it leads to stronger germs. The problem is, antibac

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Entry by AM Smiley

Some parents think vaccines are unhealthy for their kids. Not only is that wrong, it's dangerous. If you've heard that vaccines cause autism, you've h

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Entry by AM Smiley

You might feel the urge to donate blood after an emergency. But that leads to shortages later. Donated blood only lasts for 42 days before it has to b

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Entry by AM Smiley

What could be better for a cause than an awareness campaign? Pretty much anything, it turns out. Sure, awareness campaigns are great ... if they're fo