The State of Things?

From the July 11, 2009 NY Times.  Headline reads, “Views of Scientists and Public in Conflict, Survey Finds”.  Article by Cornelia Dean.  One excerpt…

“Almost a third of ordinary Americans say human beings have existed in their current form since the beginning of time, a view held by ony 2 percent of the scientists.  Only about half of the public agrees that people are behind climate change, and 11 percent does not believe there is any warming at all.

“According to the survey, about a third of Americans think there is a lively scientific debate on both topics; in fact there is no credible scientific challenge to the theory of evolution and there is little doubt that human activity is altering the chemistry of the atmosphere in ways that threaten global climate.”

Clearly we have a lot of work to do to help folks around us understand the facts.  So do the scientists.

Ralph