Why Bother Michael Pollan Analysis

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Recommended: The media and climate change

“It’s the end of the world as we know it.” In addition to being the lyrics to a very popular song, these words represent the beliefs that Michael Pollan expresses in his article, “Why Bother?” Michael Pollan is an award-winning American journalist who maintains quite a passion for the climate crisis that seems to plague our news. In addition to writing many books on environmental conservatism, he teaches journalism at the University of California - Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. Sadly, in this article, it seems as if Pollan gives in to his own titular question and surrenders to the force of climate change. Michael Pollan does an excellent job at conveying the seriousness of this issue to his audience. However, it is unclear whether he wants the audience to take action against climate change or if he merely wants to inform them about how no action they could take would yield success. In addition to this, it seems as if Pollan begins to diverge from the greater problem of climate change in order to cover more trivial topics. For example, in the final paragraph of this article, Pollan elects to write about the “sweeter reasons to plant that garden …” (Pollan 6). By doing so, Michael Pollan falls victims to the very criticism he gave about Al Gore earlier in this very same article. Instead of …show more content…

It is obvious from the tone of this report that Michael Pollan really wants to stop climate change; he just doesn’t know how to make a lasting effect. Even so, he never ceases to pull at the readers’ heartstrings. The author does a great job at coercing the readers to jump on board; the only problem is there is no destination in mind. So, instead of inciting his readers to act out against this problem, Pollan leaves them dumbfounded and uncertain on how to

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