Pollan Article

In the article "Why Bother?" Michael Pollan explains why an individual should bother going green while the rest of the country is waiting for a quick-fix solution from environmentalists and politicians. Pollan says that there are a plethora of excuses why one does not choose to go green, but unfortunately, when and if we decide to change our lifestyle, it would probably be too late. The author mentions the fact that we, as a society, are waiting for a “quick-fix” solution to fix our current environmental problem, but this “quick fix” is what  “helped get us into this mess in the first place” (91). He explains that if one does decide to change their lifestyle and become more environmentally friendly, it will encourage others to green as well. Pollan elaborates further by saying one's actions will not go unnoticed because “if enough other people bother,  each one influencing yet another in a chain reaction of behavioral change" (92). One very thought provoking example of going green Pollan suggests in his article is to have Americans grow their own food. He believes that this won’t solve the overall problem directly, but by planting a garden, one can “change the cheap-energy mind” by making Americans less dependent on corporations and politicians to solve all of their problems, environmental ones included (93).  (221 words)