The digg™ story is about a Gallup poll showing:

Although a majority of Americans believe the seriousness of global warming is either correctly portrayed in the news or underestimated, a record-high 41% now say it is exaggerated. This represents the highest level of public skepticism about mainstream reporting on global warming seen in more than a decade of Gallup polling on the subject.

This report presupposes that Americans, in general, possess the tools needed to develop a meaningful decision on scientific matters. All men are created equal, but after being created all bets are off.  Some people have invested a huge amount of time and energy into studying specific subjects while others have forgotten what they learned in elementary school.

While most Americans would not presume that they have the skills and knowledge needed to diagnose cancer or other diseases, many so feel that they can possess a “gut feeling” that should be treated as equally valid as long term scientific research in creating environmental policy.  As long as this continues, we are in for a world of hurt.  I would be the last to espouse a technocracy, but there needs to be a way to reconcile the fact that if most of our elected representatives actually made the hard decisions that are needed now they would stand a good chance of losing their next election.

The second story that caught my eye is Science Literacy – American Adults ‘Flunk’ Basic Science, Says Survey.

Are Americans bad at science?  If so, are they worse than anywhere else?   We know the answer to one of those questions.  A new national survey commissioned by the California Academy of Sciences and conducted by Harris Interactive  says that the U.S. public is unable to pass even a basic scientific literacy test.

The good news; U.S. adults do believe that scientific research and education are important. About 4 in 5 adults think science education is “absolutely essential” or “very important” to the U.S. healthcare system (86%), the U.S. global reputation (79%), and the U.S. economy (77%).

People are starting to realize that innovation and industry – not making cheap mortgages a government mandated right – are what propels successful economies.    That means people have to understand science.

If you’re already confident in your knowledge, here’s what other people do not know:

• Only 53% of adults know how long it takes for the Earth to revolve around the Sun.
• Only 59% of adults know that the earliest humans and dinosaurs did not live at the same time.
• Only 47% of adults can roughly approximate the percent of the Earth’s surface that is covered with water .
• Only 21% of adults answered all three questions correctly.

Knowledge about some key scientific issues is also low. Despite the fact that access to fresh water is likely to be one of the most pressing environmental issues over the coming years, less than 1% of U.S. adults know what percent of the planet’s water is fresh (the correct answer is 3%). Nearly half didn’t even hazard a guess. Additionally, 40% of U.S. adults say they are “not at all knowledgeable” about sustainability.

I guess the real question I am left with is what have we, as Americans, done to earn the right to make policy if we are not invested enough in the matter to study scientific subjects thoroughly.

TechInsights, the global leader in media, marketing and professional services for the electronics industry, and next-generation educational game developers, Software Kids, LLC, today announced the release of Time Engineers(TM), a graphics and content rich video game designed to introduce pre-high school students to basic engineering, science and math principles in a fun and entertaining setting.

Time Engineers

TechInsights co-markets Time Engineers as part of an ongoing commitment to engineering education programs for all ages. “We are delighted to work with Software Kids to help promote Time Engineers,” said TechInsights’ CEO, Paul Miller. “The game is an excellent teaching tool and does a great job of piquing student interest in the fields of engineering and technology.”

Time Engineers was created by Software Kids founder Ray Shingler to combat the perception that careers in the sciences are not as prestigious or as lucrative as other careers. “We set out to produce a computer game where kids could see the importance of learning math and science at an earlier age,” said Shingler. “Time Engineers also allows them to have ‘hands on’ interactive simulations to enhance their level of learning. And unlike most educational software, Time Engineers was designed to be as rich in graphics, content and game-play as most commercial games students play.”

After cracking the code that gives access to the Time Engineers travel pod, students are graphically transported back in time to the origins of some of the most significant engineering achievements in history. Players can experiment with mechanisms and materials to build the pyramids and crop irrigation systems of Ancient Egypt, help design and command a World War II submarine, and learn how to engineer a Middle Ages drawbridge.

At each step in their journey through time, students are challenged by interactive exercises that help them learn and apply engineering, science, mathematics and technology concepts such as binary number systems, Boolean logic, linear expressions, geometric set theory and power generation.

Produced in conjunction with the College of Engineering at Valparaiso University, Time Engineers has been endorsed by educators who value its easy-to-follow manual and helpful teaching tools such as lesson plans and curriculum guides. “Time Engineers is an incredibly engaging and equally educational tool,” said Michael Jabot, Ph.D., Professor, Physics and Science Education, State University of New York at Fredonia. “In using it with a group of middle school students as part of our outreach program, even the most reluctant of the students was drawn into the program and we had a difficult time breaking them away when our time ran out.”

Time Engineers won Choosing Children’s Software magazine’s “Best Pick” award and Children’s Technology Review magazine’s “All Star Software” award. More than 3000 copies of the game have been purchased to date and a sequel that incorporates social impact themes, environmental and biomedical engineering concepts and contributions made by women and minorities is in the works.

Time Engineers is available for purchase on-line at http://www.timeengineers.com.

The McCain campaign has finally responded to the Sciencedebate2008 questionnaire. His responses, alongside Obama’s responses from two weeks ago, are now online at The Questions and Answers, a Side by Side Comparison.

Washington (September 15, 2008) – Entering the debate on several contentious science issues, John McCain today answered the “14 top science questions facing America,” according to ScienceDebate2008.com, the group leading an effort to make science issues a larger part of the election. His answers join those of Barack Obama, who answered the same questions two weeks ago.

“Most of America’s major unsolved challenges revolve around these 14 questions. To move America forward, the next president needs a substantive plan for tackling them going in, and voters deserve to know what that plan is,” said Shawn Otto, CEO of the initiative. “We’re pleased that Senator McCain has provided voters with that plan.”

The top 14 questions address energy policy, national security, economics in a science-driven global economy, climate change, education, health care, ocean health, biosecurity, clean water, space, stem cells, scientific integrity, genetics, and research.

The 14 questions were developed from over 3,400 questions submitted by more than 38,500 signers of the ScienceDebate2008 initiative. The questionnaire is a joint effort led by ScienceDebate2008, with Scientists and Engineers for America, AAAS, the National Academies, the Council on Competitiveness, and several other organizations, together representing over 125 million Americans.

“I have a broad and cohesive vision for the future of American innovation,” said Senator McCain. “My policies will provide broad pools of capital, low taxes and incentives for research in America, a commitment to a skilled and educated workforce, and a dedication to opening markets around the globe.”

“Ensuring that the U.S. continues to lead the world in science and technology will be a central priority for my administration,” said Senator Obama. “Our talent for innovation is still the envy of the world, but we face unprecedented challenges that demand new approaches.”

Recent national polls have shown that 85% of voters would like the see the candidates debate these challenges, and the majority of voters are much more likely to vote for a candidate that has a plan for tackling these issues.

“We are grateful for both Senators’ detailed responses,” said Matthew Chapman, president of the initiative. “Now we hope the candidates will want to discuss their differences. Science Debate 2008 and its partners once again extend an invitation to both candidates to attend a televised forum where these vital issues can be discussed in front of a broader audience.”

ScienceDebate2008.com is a citizens initiative started by six individuals whose signers now include nearly every major American science organization, the presidents of nearly every major American university, and dozens of Nobel laureates and top American CEOs. For more information, to see a list of the signers, or to see detailed results of the national polls, please visit http://www.sciencedebate2008.com.

On the new Climate Change Collection:

The last two decades of the 20th century produced mounting evidence that climate change posed significant risks to society. At the beginning of the 21st century, climate change has become a defining issue of our time. The importance of this issue is underscored by its magnitude and complexity: it is a global problem with wide geographic and economic disparity between the largest sources of the problem and those who will experience the greatest impacts. Many solutions often run counter to powerful entrenched interests and long-held patterns of individual behavior. All of this is happening amidst a global community that is increasingly connected by flows of information, people, commerce and environmental change. This collection brings together some of the world’s leading scientists and organizations and presents the essential knowledge underlying the issue of climate change. — Cutler J. Cleveland, Editor-in-Chief

The Collection is anchored by an electronic version of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Nobel Prize-winning reports. It also includes articles by climate experts, biographies of individuals who have made important contributions to climate science and policy, a timeline of key events in the history of climate science and policy, a climate glossary, and much more.

A few of the features that I really enjoy include:

• Climate Change Timeline – Scientists have been interested in man’s effects on climate for much longer than you may realize.
• Climate change FAQs – What is the difference between weather and climate? What is the greenhouse effect? Can the warming of the 20th century be explained by natural variability? Answers to these and other essential questions from leading climate research centers.
• Climate Change Glossary – An extensive glossary defining some specific terms as the IPCC lead authors intend them to be interpreted in the context of if their Nobel Prize Winning Reports.

Researchers create ‘self-healing’ rubber

Rubbery materials can be easily stretched, but it is not easy to mend them when they break, as anyone who has ever had a punctured car tyre will know. Now, however, researchers in France have created a unique new rubber-like material that can “self-heal” at room temperature. If the material is snapped in half, the two torn pieces can be made to mend themselves simply by bringing the broken surfaces back in contact with each other (Nature 451 977).

The new “supramolecular rubber” has been created by Ludwik Leibler and colleagues at the Ecole Supérieure de Physique et Chimie Industrielles (ESPCI/CNRS) in Paris, France. It consists of “fatty acids” — short chains of carbon atoms — linked together via hydrogen bonds to form a macroscopic 3D network. The material behaves just like an ordinary rubber in that it can stretch to several times its normal length when pulled.

But if the material is cut in half, the two broken pieces of the rubber can self-heal when brought together and simply held in contact for a few minutes. The fracture mends and the material can be stretched and pulled in all directions again. “It is important to stress that the material is not self-adhesive,” Leibler told physicsworld.com. “The surfaces of the material are never sticky to the touch and feel like a rubber band or a plastic bag. Self-mending is possible even 12 hours after the fracture occurred.”

Read the rest over at http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/32970.  

You can get the newsletter yourself if you sign up for a free account at http://physicsworld.com.

Over the last week I have seen some completely baffling bullshit from people who identify themselves as Christian.  Against my better judgment I have entered into conversation with some of these people. 

This has got to stop.  I am wasting my time and there is no point in debating and issue with someone who will use the Bible as a source of authority. 

Over at BlogCatalog the simplest conversation can be hijacked by people who feel an overwhelming urge to cast aspersions on science for no other reason than to see their words in ‘print’. 

After one such person decided to argue that believing in the Theory of Evolution required an act of faith because its a "theory", I realized that nothing I can say will help that person see past their religiously indoctrinated views.  It  was this comment that did it:

kristilinauer You talk about evolution as if it’s scientific fact. Interesting….

It’s called the THEORY of Evolution. A scientific "theory" is "an accepted hypothesis", and a "hypothesis" is "an educated guess." So Evolution is nothing more than "an accepted educational guess."

Since evolution can’t be proven (which is why it’s not called a LAW), it takes a great deal of FAITH to believe in it.

After reading that, I did respond with a short explanation of how I felt that despite any flaws anyone can find in evolution, its still a better answer than  any alternative I have seen, including the Bible. 

Then Kristi responded by pasting the contents of this article: Scientific Hypothesis, Theory, Law Definitions. I suppose she felt that using  About.com as a definitive source honestly felt to her like an act of intellectual integrity.  In other comments, she had made clear that she felt both Wikipedia and the New York Times were sources that she rejected when quotes from those disagreed with her rigid views on issues.  The issue at that time was the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  She had voiced frustration that while the US was expected to help out after any disaster like the Asian Tsunami, no other countries helped the US.  When she said " Yet when tragedy occurs within our own borders, I don’t see other countries lining up to help, as with Hurricane Katrina.", a blogger replied with links to Wikipedia and a New York Times story with this lead:

Hurricane Relief From Abroad Was Mishandled:   Confusion over how to handle the emergency supplies, offers of military assistance and $126 million in cash that poured in from foreign governments after Hurricane Katrina meant delays, and in some cases wasted opportunities, in aiding storm victims, federal officials acknowledged Thursday.  …

Thousands of ready-to-eat meals donated by governments, as well as loads of medicine, were never used, because officials learned only after they arrived in the United States that they did not meet federal health standards. Instead of distributing the supplies, the federal government spent $60,000 to store them.

(This is a very educational article that I highly recommend if you have time to read it.)

After reading her rejection of the New York Times, I couldn’t help hearing echoes of Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and Ann Coulter’s choral chants about the evil of the ‘liberal media’. 

This post is not about Kristi or any other "person of faith" who chooses to ignore facts in favor of articles of faith.  It’s about my difficulty in ignoring those people.  I am going to make a real effort to just ignore these kinds of statements no matter how much my fingers itch to respond. 

I grew up in an evangelical church and was taught the same things that Kristi and others like her were taught.  Over time I realized that a closed mind is a cold and hard place to inhabit.  I wish I could find the words to get everyone to at least open their minds to the world around us.  The world and all the life in it is so fascinating and ‘miraculous’ to me in both its rich complexity and its simple building blocks.  Why someone chooses to dumb down their senses and mind and emotions regarding the natural world is something I will never understand.  The best I can do is to not waste my own resources beating against a intellectual brick wall.