Summary of "Why Bother?"

        In the New York Times Magazine 2008 article “Why Bother?,” writer and University of California Berkeley journalism professor Michael Pollan raises the issue about whether people should take action to minimize climate change. Pollan addresses the major problem with climate change: the majority of people continue to live a lifestyle of consuming and producing cheap fossil fuel for modern convenience. The “’cheap-energy mind’”, Pollan notes, inhibits people from changing their lifestyle because they cannot imagine living a life that is different from what they are accustomed to (92). Emphasizing the importance of bridging the rift between “what we think and what we do”, Pollen suggests that we use the power of influence to set off a “chain reaction of behavioral change” among people in our communities (92). Pollen also stresses that planting a garden is a major step toward dramatically reducing one’s carbon footprint because it lowers carbon emissions, provides fresh and healthy produce, and allows people to reconnect with their neighbors.

                                                                       Work Cited
Pollan, Michael. "Why Bother?" New York Times Magazine 20 Apr. 2008: 19+. Rpt. in The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing. John D. Ramage, John C. Bean, and June Johnson. 6th ed. New York: Pearson, 2012. 88-94. Print.