Nasrudith - I suppose I should caveat all this and say that I sincerely appreciate the thoughtful response to my query. Thank you for the civil discourse. That stated - this point about "instead of anything actually productive" - the issue there is, I can only do what I can do. That is, I can vote in ways I think are good for the planet. I can choose products with minimal packaging. I can compost and use my metal straws and reusable shopping bags. BUT, I can't make the US agree to the Paris agreement and I am not an executive at an energy company or what have you. Thus, each of us can only do our small part. Is that signaling? Well yes, it signals that I'm trying.

>An analogy is "Why would promoting handwashing to combat aids be a bad thing? It gets people focused on health."

Well? Do tell. While hand washing or eliminating plastic bags or eliminating plastic straws might not be the end-all be-all of good environmental stewardship or good health practices, I'm a bit dumbfounded how they can be seen in a negative light. It's flu season, be cognizant of hand washing and cover your mouth when you cough - how's that a harmful message again?

> It's flu season, be cognizant of hand washing and cover your mouth when you cough - how's that a harmful message again

Well, you don't get to say you're helping to combat aids by giving out that type of advice. If you try, you are "promoting bikeshedding and signaling contests" instead of doing anything productive [to solve the AIDS problem].