THESE SIMPLE QUESTIONS (April 10, 2008)

Only consider the litany of global environmental problems, which I will list off the top of my head: climate change, alternative energy sources, environmental pollution, population explosion, control of pandemics, genetically modified food, biodiversity preservation… All these complex problems are deeply interrelated, as well. Now consider the fact that most people can barely understand how their cars work and how to manage them safely in traffic. Can these very same people be expected to make sensible decisions about the above problems so as to avert environmental calamity of global proportions? Can they ever? Of course, it does not take more than a few seconds to come up with the correct answer to these simple questions. And to start laughing, laughing, laughing.