I have no answer

I realize that in the "about me" blurb I said this would be a blog documenting not only my travels but also my evolving perceptions. I don't feel like I've stood up to that promise.
It is incredibly difficult to come to grips with my perceptions of the cultures and people we've met in Indochina. I am haunted by the percieved poverty that I witness in both the cities and rural areas.
The VIP bus with aircon rumbles down the road carrying me and a few dozen other rich tourists and a handfull of locals, with our iPods, neck pillows and bottled water from one scenic attraction to the next. The local kids look at us with curious expressions, pausing from their chores to watch us whiz by - us staring back with equal curiosity. What are they thinking? What am I thinking?
How aweful is it to litter plastic bags and food wrappers everywhere, poop and bath in the same water, and try to fanagle as much out of a foreign tourist as possible? Is that really so bad, when I am contributing more to global warming in one day of flying, than an entire household will in a year? Is that really so bad when all of my electronic waste gets shipped overseas where the heavy metals leach out and reach poisonous concentrations in ground water supplies? Is that really so bad when most of the clothes and goods I buy are made overseas in factories that pay low wages and offer few benefits? My choices do all their harm where I cannot witness the effects. The choices faced by most rural villages here have repercussions that they must face immediately. How can I want them to "clean up" after themselves when my waste is so much worse? Every day I ask myself these questions. Every day I have no answer.