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You set out into the room with good intentions, but unfortunately…it doesn't go well.

Almost at once, people start to avoid your eye as you bring up the topic of the forest. More often than not, people simply tell you it's not the right time or place to "get political" as much as you are. A few times, people walk away from your conversation seeming a little more in favor of the developments than they were before.

And, of course, you grow more and more frustrated. You find yourself wanting to shout, to ask people how they can be so shortsighted. You don't; after a while, you simply fall silent. You don't know how to tell people that you're not trying to win a debate—you're trying to save something precious from being lost. If you're upset, it's because it's worth getting upset about.

But in the end you decide to cut your losses, realizing that you can't exactly blame people for not wanting to talk about something like that at a birthday party. At the very least, you can chalk it up to a learning experience: know when to pick your battles.

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