23 'Helpful' Actions That Actually Make Things Worse
Your heart's in the right place.
![23 'Helpful' Actions That Actually Make Things Worse](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/3/0/2/746302_320x180.jpg?v=2)
We all want to do what's good for the planet, and good for society as a whole. And that's admirable. The thing is, sometimes the thing we're doing isn't actually helpful. Or it even makes things worse.
For example:
![Want to reach people? Persuade them online. Or stand on your roof and shout. Arguing online never convinces anyone. Studies have shown that it has the](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/3/0/6/746306.jpg?v=1)
![If you want to kill germs, you use antibacterial soap. Spasoap Liquid Soap Antibacterial But using it leads to stronger germs. Antibacterial and antim](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/2/9/5/746295.jpg?v=2)
![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](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/2/2/5/746225.jpg?v=2)
![Need some chill? Break out the affirmations. ony yes is yes But they're going to make you feel worse. Studies have shown that affirmations make people](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/3/0/5/746305.jpg?v=2)
![We tried teaching schoolkids to Just Say No to drugs. TARE TO RESIST DRUGS It made them more likely to use drugs. Two separate studies found that at](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/2/1/9/746219.jpg?v=2)
![Charity concerts for third-world countries are super-helpful. NOW Except when they aren't. Wyclef Jean collected $15 million for Haiti, then spent ove](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/2/2/3/746223.jpg?v=2)
![Hybrid cars are fuel-efficient and better for the environment. Except for the drivers. Putting aside the environmental damage caused by the manufactur](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/2/1/0/746210.jpg?v=2)
![If we don't recycle, we're gonna wind up like the planet in Wall-E. Or maybe not. Scientists have calculated that at current rates, all the garbage in](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/2/1/1/746211.jpg?v=2)
![Some parents think vaccines are unhealthy for their kids. Not only is that wrong, it's dangerous. Despite what the internet says, there's no connectio](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/2/1/6/746216.jpg?v=2)
![In 2005, England launched the Beat Bullying campaign. BULLYINC BEAT And a bunch of kids got bullied. The problem was, the bright blue Beat Bullying wr](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/2/2/6/746226.jpg?v=2)
![You might be tempted to send supplies when there's a disaster. Emergency workers call that the second disaster. After Sandy Hook, donors sent upward](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/2/2/4/746224.jpg?v=2)
![You might be tempted to pick a charity that has low overhead. Not SO fast. A certain amount of spending is necessary for a charity to succeed. In fact](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/2/0/6/746206.jpg?v=2)
![Buying organic food sounds healthy and good for the planet. Surprisingly, it isn't. There no evidence that organically grown produce is better for you](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/2/2/2/746222.jpg?v=2)
![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](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/2/2/0/746220.jpg?v=2)
![Your optician probably asks you to donate your old glasses. Doing SO is useless, at best. As stupidly expensive as glasses are, it's still cheaper to](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/2/1/8/746218.jpg?v=2)
![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](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/2/1/3/746213.jpg?v=2)
![Worried about landfills? Buy some green disposable diapers. pure & natural organic cotton coton bio algodon organico hypoallergenic/hypoallergenique](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/2/0/9/746209.jpg?v=2)
![If you buy local, you'll save the energy wasted on transporting food. But growing food is much more wasteful. Shoppers expect to enjoy the same foods](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/2/2/1/746221.jpg?v=2)
![When you donate, you can earmark your money for a cause. T ocesie EDTS rofny But you really shouldn't. Charity funding tends to be a lot like high sch](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/2/1/2/746212.jpg?v=2)
![You might feel the urge to donate blood after an emergency. But that leads to shortages later. Donated blood only lasts for 42 days, and donors feel t](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/2/1/4/746214.jpg?v=2)
![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](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/2/0/8/746208.jpg?v=2)
![After an oil spill, volunteers scramble to wash oil off birds. Those volunteers do more harm than good. Inexperienced cleanup crews often scare endang](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/2/0/7/746207.jpg?v=2)
![Want to save the planet? Use reusable grocery bags. Be prepared to use them a lot. They take 28 to 200 times as much energy to produce as disposable b](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/2/1/5/746215.jpg?v=2)
![It's not just consumers whose helpful actions backfire. Sometimes it's states. Or whole countries. Georgia's bounty on boars caused the boar populatio](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/3/0/4/746304.jpg?v=2)