Carbon Trail: Styrofoam or Ceramic?

After reading various peoples’ opinions on Styrofoam vs. reusable cups and poring (disinterestedly) over a slew of scientific data on the energy consumption of dishwashers and plants that make Styrofoam and ceramic cups, I have come to a conclusion: the cup controversy is not a very clear cut argument. If the cup is good quality and is reused for many years, then the energy consumption used to make the ceramic cup leaves less of a carbon footprint than using a new Styrofoam cup every day. But this all depends on the individual consumer; if a person reuses one Styrofoam cup to last for a week or two, then it leaves a smaller carbon footprint than the combined energy consumption of making a ceramic cup and washing it in a dishwasher. There are so many variables, such as: the amount of carbon emissions released by each Styrofoam or reusable cup manufacturer, which method one uses to clean dishes (dishwasher vs. hand washing), and how efficient one’s dishwasher is. So it really is hard to tell which type of drink is more eco-friendly. My personal opinion is that the reusable cup is more eco friendly and will last longer.
I believe that the real issue is that we need to attempt to leave the smallest carbon footprint that we can with the information available to us. Instead of spending multiple hours arguing over the nuances of the cup controversy, we should do the research for ourselves and decide how we will live and the decisions we will make to leave the smallest carbon footprint that we reasonably can. I plan on living my life as conscientiously as I can, playing my part to not trash my corner of the world in my time here.