People go on and on about CO2 and global warming because they are a huge problem that nobody can directly tackle. Environmental issues like the one you describe exist everywhere, but they are (perceived as) too expensive to fix so nobody wants to acknowledge them.
One thing that really pisses me off is people using petrol-powered leaf blowers. They are loud and obnoxious, and incredibly wasteful. Whatever happened to the simple broom? To me, the leaf blower is emblematic of this issue. Nobody really cares enough to actually do anything about the insane wastefulness of our society. (And I include myself in that - I utilise way more resources than I really need. At least I don't own a car.)
Your second point is a separate issue - it's more practical to get people to fix the things that can be fixed before asking them to change the way they live and go back to this unrealistic ideal world of no machinery etc.
I'm not opposed to technology. Because of population density we need technology to survive. What I'm opposed to is the wasteful use of the precious resources we have. We need to utilise modern technology's wonderful potential to get the most out of what we have.
When you consider that so many people (in Sydney, where I live) commute to work on their own in their cars, and that every 30 of those cars could be replaced with one bus, you can only conclude that it's madness.
Similarly that we're still using incandescent bulbs. Or that many office buildings leave their lights on 24 hours a day. Or that people here run air conditioners 6 months of the year (we are not living in the tropics - I'd say there's probably 10 days a year here where aircon is necessary for any healthy adult - obv the sick or the elderly are another story).
Everywhere you look there are gross inefficiencies, things that could be fixed with a little planning, expenditure, collaboration, and compromise. It saddens me that we seem to be too selfish and disorganised.
You're ignoring qualitative differences and other costs. Commuting to work in your own car, which lets you keep that demo system handy that you're going to show a customer, and lets you pick up groceries on the way home, has a higher value to most people. It also means you get somewhere faster, and on your own schedule. If you add up all the hours that smart engineers would otherwise be sitting waiting for a bus, that has a cost to society as well.
The difference between a car and a bus to me is the difference between the internet and cable television. With the former, you get what you want when you want it. With the latter, you have to go along with the group and rely on others to decide for you.
I'm an engineer and I take the bus because it's more convenient and I don't have to think about driving. Some of my best work (thought) has been done on public transport.
Leaf blowers are especially irritating in that it's far more convenient to make your leaves someone else's problem with a leaf blower than to actually make a pile (I don't want to say it's "impossible" to make a neat pile of leaves with a leaf blower, but I think it must require lots of skill, at least). But they don't actually solve any problem permanently, instead just moving the problem to tomorrow (or "right after the wind starts blowing again").
One thing that really pisses me off is people using petrol-powered leaf blowers. They are loud and obnoxious, and incredibly wasteful. Whatever happened to the simple broom? To me, the leaf blower is emblematic of this issue. Nobody really cares enough to actually do anything about the insane wastefulness of our society. (And I include myself in that - I utilise way more resources than I really need. At least I don't own a car.)