“I don’t blame the politicians...I blame the electorate.” deGrasse Tyson on Climate Denial

[Colorado Vince]

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson had choice words for the state of Florida Monday, saying he was “astonished” by Gov. Rick Scott’s administration’s alleged ban on using the words “climate change.”

Speaking as part of a lecture series in Sarasota, Florida and at a press conference before it, the renowned scientist and science communicator said that he thought that the U.S., as a country, was above using science as a political debate. Tyson also said voters held responsibility for electing lawmakers like Scott, which points to the need to better educate voters about issues like climate change.

“I don’t blame the politicians for a damn thing because we vote for the politicians,” he said. “I blame the electorate.”

Tyson has a point: a poll last year found that Americans are, in general, less concerned about climate change than people in many other parts of the world. And though most Americans believe climate change is happening, many don’t fully understand why.

Tyson also said that Florida officials should be worrying about what to do to prepare the state for the imminent threat of sea level rise, rather than restricting state workers from talking about climate change. “Now we have a time where people are cherry picking science,” he said. “The science is not political. That’s like repealing gravity because you gained 10 pounds last week.”

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/03/24/3638084/neil-degrasse-tyson-florida-climate-ban/

Right on all counts, as usual.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. Chicken or the egg.

Politicians get to influence (or outright control) what gets taught in schools and how science is viewed. The electorate has the views it does in large part because of the politicians that influenced education when they were going through school.

[Nay]

2. Agreed. You can hardly blame the electorate that has been dumbed down for 30 years. I love

Neil, but he still thinks that the majority of people can think for themselves, and I kinda stopped thinking that about 25 years ago. People are led by the nose by their leaders -- we're little different from the tribal mobs of 50,000 years ago. You join a tribe, or you die. That mentality has held true for hundreds of thousands of years and it's presumptuous to think it can be eradicated.

[FiveGoodMen]

3. So, how did some of us avoid the great dumbing-down?

And why do the rest get a pass?

[Nay]

5. I'm sure that sociologists or anthropologists can give you a detailed summary of

why. My anecdotal reason is that some people are just born that way as a result of randomness. Others learn to be that way because their tribe encourages it or they have an interest in science and reality rather than myth and self aggrandizement .

As for the rest getting a pass, they aren't going to. They are going to face head on the result of their horrible decisions (or lack of decision) in the most horrible way, and those of us who have been sounding the alarm will be forced to live through it, too.

[FiveGoodMen]

6. I think the main reason so many have been dumbed down is because they've been threatened

Threatened with eternal torture if they dared to think (remember: there was no apple; it was the fruit of the tree of knowledge).

Threatened by their own parents and by their parents' surrogates in church.

Brow-beaten with the notion that mere burning to death was TOO GOOD for them since birth.

We have allowed the world's most evil and savage terrorists to occupy pulpits for centuries.

Lately (starting with Reagan's gang), we've been letting these terrorists run our government.

We are reaping the whirlwind of letting history's worst con-men have their way.

And those con-men have said, "Don't you DARE think!"

[Nay]

9. Certainly. That's what I referred to when I said "myth" in my first statement. If you're in a

tribe, the religious myths, no matter how hurtful or stupid, are generally enforced upon tribe members.

[Colorado Vince]

10. great point fgm

You weren't fooled. I wasn't fooled. And I've never been mistaken for Einstein!

[world wide wally]

4. Two words:

Fox News

[MisterP]

7. many states don't offer non-Kochie candidates

we can't get stuff that even 90% of NRA members want to have passed ...

[The Stranger]

8. Two more words (okay, four more words)

Fuck Neil deGrasse Tyson.

If he doesn't do something, who the fuck is supposed to?

He needs to have the courage to act for the planet, not cower from a political fight.

[Fumesucker]

11. No word on the "Shape of the Earth? Opinions differ" M$M?

Have you dropped that portion of your criticism now, Neil?

He spoke out against the media’s need to create “balance” in stories about climate change and other scientific issues last year, saying giving equal time to people who deny widely accepted scientific theories doesn’t make sense.

Now it is all the fault of the public, most of whom are scrambling to keep their heads above water and don't have the time, inclination or energy to investigate the lies told by the media and the politicians.

Pointing the finger at those who are least powerful and least in a position to be able to discern and disseminate the truth doesn't make you look good.