Martian Thoughts

Common-sense majority

When the COVID-19 vaccine was developed at neck-breaking speed, many found the rapidity to be suspicious. Many until-then-sound enough minds embraced ridiculous conspiracy theories and refused to be vaccinated.

As humanity as a whole fails to grasp the significance of the current climate crisis, there are some hopeful indicators: even after agreeing that we should triple the speed with which we are switching to renewable energies, some countries are expediting their development faster than that. In a separate if related case of mind-blowing human progress, scientists have revealed ways to “dim the sun”, or rather, to alter the stratosphere’s chemical composition to deflect part of our star’s radiation, buying us some precious time so we can get over ourselves down here.

Not believing in vaccines or climate change is akin to not believing in gravity. Ultimately, jumping out of the window will only give us one possible direction. However, while we despair at the seemingly bottomless pit of human ignorance, some surveys tell us such extreme views are only held by 15% or 20% of any given population. Admittedly, considering the lunacy of these beliefs, the figure may be cause for distress and depression, but we should remember it still gives us a potential 8-2 majority to impose common sense.