There's a good argument to be made that it's actually the opposite of hurting yourself if you do the things the grandparent listed: "... eating less, not changing cell phones every year, shopping less, driving less."
But of course nobody wants to hear that either, it's considered preaching about personal choices.
You truly need to have heroic levels of dedication to sustain eating 5% less, keeping your home 5% warmer/cooler, and driving 5% less over the long term.
Then at the end of the day it still won't matter because your government chooses to continue burning coal.
It's even worse because if enough green minded folk can reduce enough energy use to make a difference then it drives down the cost of energy which makes it cheaper for others to use more.
This really is a problem that requires everyone to play a role.
My point was that doing those things would be good for you personally, regardless of any environmental impact.
Most American adults are overweight and should eat 5% less. Driving 5% less simply means that you would avoid one trip out of twenty, maybe by arranging to do something remotely or by taking public transport -- hardly an enormous sacrifice. Driving increases stress levels anyway, so this reduction is also good for your health.
But of course nobody wants to hear that either, it's considered preaching about personal choices.