Michael Pollan on Why We Should Bother Living Green

Michael Pollan's recent New York Times article Why Bother? speaks to something that swirls around in my head all too often....how can one person's tiny actions like changing a light bulb or turning down the thermostat really make a difference in GLOBAL climate change; something so big and scary it's hard to even comprehend??? 

And what do we do about our "evil twin" on the other side of the world, who as Pollan says is "eager to swallow every bite of meat I forswear and who’s positively itching to replace every last pound of CO2 I’m struggling no longer to emit."  It certainly does beg the question - why bother?

Pollan answers that question in his usual smart and thoughtful way and ultimately convinces us (at least he did me) that we should bother, primarily because we are setting a good example and raising consciousness.  We are challenging the 'cheap-energy mind' - which fosters the "mentality that makes dealing with climate change in our own lives seem impossibly difficult".

In the end, Pollan encourages us to grow just a little of our own food.  Plant a garden, big or small, wherever you can fit it in.  It may not make a huge impact on our carbon footprint but it will help to reduce our feelings of dependence and change the 'cheap-energy mind'.  Powerful stuff.