I thought about how easy it should be for us to overcome COVID. It should have been easy. We have the vaccine. We’ve learned how to stay safe with masks and distancing. We have proven medical interventions. We have some of the best research scientists in the world. But still, we find ourselves in a fourth wave. Why didn’t we listen to the science, roll up our sleeves and get vaccinated? We all know the answer to that. About 30-40% of us don’t believe it’s real, don’t think it’s that bad, or equate refusal as some sort of allegiance test. We will likely muddle our way through this over the next few years at the expense of a few million more lives. But the world will survive another pandemic, just like it has done many times before.
Then my thoughts turned to climate change. The science is overwhelming. CO2 and other greenhouse gases emitted through human activity are causing the earth to warm up. Dire predictions are becoming reality. Scientists know how to fix this. All it will take is for us to roll up our sleeves, work at implementing accelerated reductions in carbon emissions through energy efficiency, waste reductions and non-carbon-based energy use. Yet here too, 30-40% of us don’t believe the science. The consequences are real, and my fear is that like COVID, we will try to muddle our way through. However, unlike COVID, my fear is that most of us will not survive.
Rod Pimentel
Henniker