There are 2 reasons to take this stuff seriously,
1) What if they are right? What if we should be worrying about this?
2) More and more consumers are demanding carbon neutral alternatives. You know how much print, promo & signage Panera, Bosch, Google, Facebook, Nike...etc...etc... buy in a year?
I know many of you are here discussing this stuff as if it were over coffee on a Saturday morning...a long ways away from action on Monday...but there is a business opportunity here.
Your second point is valid. Hey, if they practice environmentalism as a religion, that's fine with me as long as they don't force their religion on me. Glad to take their money if they want to buy a vinyl substitute made of flaxseed or some such thing.
The first point is far from proven.. Science definitely not settled on that, so 'what if it's true?' is not enough to upend the economy and put millions out of work taking drastic measures to satisfy the true believers. Again, if a business wants to pursue their own agenda, let the free market determine if it's a wise choice.