Over half of all Republicans still don't accept that climate change is happening:
Ack! Think about the implications of this kind of thinking....
The US has dropped from #1 to #13 in education (only 38% of 12th graders are proficient in reading and only 26% are proficient in math: http://abcnews.go.com/US/nations-report-card-shows-american-students-struggle-reading/story?id=12186446), and we're rapidly losing our edge in science (China is massively increasing R&D spending in science and technology: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/10/26/research-development-spending-china.html). But science and technology are what made this country great, and they're the MOST important endeavor to develop for a planet that needs to support billions of people with diminishing resources, growing pollution problems, and to pull the majority of humanity out of poverty and significantly raise standards of living. No other option can accomplish this. None. Yet we spend less than half what we should on developing new technologies, and the source of our scientists--our educational facilities--are falling rapidly behind.
The largest group of anti-science people in the US today are Republicans (largely made up of religious conservatives: http://www.gallup.com/poll/118937/republican-base-heavily-white-conservative-religious.aspx), and they were just elected to take over the House of Representatives. Whereas 57% of Democrats accept the science for evolution--a pathetic number, certainly--more than TWO THIRDS of all Republicans reject evolution (http://www.religioustolerance.org/ev_publi.htm) and, as you can see by the first link above, over half reject the notion of climate change. Even the Republican replacement for the House Science Committee is a climate change skeptic (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/45279.html), and the Republican Energy Committee chairman candidate insists humans can't destroy the planet...because the Bible says so (http://www.juancole.com/2010/11/energy-committee-chairman-candidate-says-god-promised-no-more-catastrophic-climate-change-after-noah.html). This despite the overwhelming consensus by climate scientists worldwide confirming human-caused climate change (http://www.smh.com.au/federal-election/climate/scientists-say-global-warming-is-undeniable-20100816-12701.html).
This is the result of falling education standards in this country: ignorant people electing ignorant representatives to make ignorant policy. Our education system has problems and needs help, but cutting funding would only make things worse. Yet that's exactly what the new Republican House appears prepared to do, along with abolishing the Education Department (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/nov/9/new-house-majority-might-hit-education/). Talk about penny wise, pound foolish.
You can't fix a crumbling building by digging at its foundations.
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