The point is that regardless of all those lovely little initiatives, it makes very little difference at all except to make the person feel better about themselves. I'm all for it since there's no harm in it but to delude yourself and think it makes one iota of difference is very naive. Whether it's the "big" and "better" suggestions or the small little ones, they amount to the same thing...Flatter your ego
I certainly wouldn't criticize one individual initiative over the next since there's really not much difference. I don't think on an individual basis that riding a bike or living in an apartment, recycling plastic bags, not using your air con, using solar panels or having a windmill on your house is better or worse. If it makes you happy and you feel you are doing your bit then fabulous, just do it.
On a global scale, it's nothing and you will never get people to change unless there's an immediate and dangerous threat, you hit people's wallet or enact laws. So if anything is to really be done, it should be to get governments to make significant policy changes... a very difficult thing to do in a place lacking democracy.
I do find it a bit ridiculous to say do this instead of that... Why not do this as well as that instead? It's not like people aren't able to do two things at the same time.