The Dangers Of Climate Change By Michael Pollan

As cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead once said “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; Indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.” In an excerpt from an essay published in the New York Times Magazine, American public intellectual Michael Pollan reveals his goal to convince the ordinary of citizens America that they are capable of saving the world from climate change and to answer the unappeasable question of “Why bother?”. This inquiry stems from the belief that one person is not capable of making a difference in relation to the larger spectrum of Americans who continue to emit a large amount of C02, increasing the effects of climate change, and destroying the environment. Through the exploration of behavior change, and other personal alternatives aimed to reduce America 's carbon footprint, Pollan aspires to have

Pollan recalls that the “really dark moment [of the lecture] came during the closing credits , we [they] were asked to...change [their] light bulbs.” He remarks that this minute gesture seemed punitive in comparison to the “magnitude of the problem Gore had described” stating that it is “drop-in-the-bucket” issues like this that cause people to ask the question “why bother?” Kentucky farmer and writer Wendell Berry also influenced Pollan’s thoughts on climate change when he wrote an analysis describing global warming as a “crisis of character” meaning that the everyday acts of humans- such as using computers and other forms of technology- have “real-world consequences” that aid in the destruction of the environment. The analyses of these two environmental specialists are what taught Pollan the importance of beginning the fight against climate change at