Is destroying this card not even an option if at least one player has 0 cards in hand?
That's how I'd read it. The card says:
"At the start of the environment turn, if each player discards 1 card, destroy this card."
If each player can't do that, then the card doesn't get destroyed.
If you have no cards, than you can discard all of the none of them. There's an official ruling to that effect around here somewhere, I think.
True, but the card specifies a number. You must discard 1 card, and if you don't have 1 card, you can't discard it. This isn't a "discard your hand" situation like (I think) the one you're thinking of.
Note that while you might not be able to destroy it "properly" by discarding stuff, you still have the option of things like a Grappling Hook, Flash Flood, Planar Banishment, End of Days, or Sarabande of Destruction (plus any ways that I forgot) to nuke it instead :).
Sorry if I was unclear. I meant to say whether destroying this card by its own effect is not even an option if at least one player has 0 cards in hand. I am aware that it can be destroyed by other means
I agree with Spiff on this one. There is a clear if-then statement that needs to be satisfied in order to destroy Pervasive Red Dust. That prerequisite condition cannot be met if any player has 0 cards to discard, so the effect is not triggered.
Spiff is correct. The official ruling Arenson is thinking of is this one: https://greaterthangames.com/forum/topic/toxic-seaweed-enviroment-card-ruins-antlantis (the second one in that thread). If you are required to discard your hand (which to my knowledge is only required by Toxic Seaweed) then it is ok for the hand to have no cards in it. But that ruling also covers the other case, if you have to discard one card then you must actually have a card to discard.
Sorry, my bad. I didn't look closely at the conditions for getting rid of the card.