NBC News just completed polling to determine who has been vaccinated in America and it sheds quite a bit of light on the anti-vax problem in the country. Overall, 69% of Americans have received the shots so far, but that is still far short of the 85% that many scientists now say we will need to dramatically reduce transmissions in the population. Most Americans who have been following the science regarding Covid are dumbfounded by the anti-vax nonsense being peddled on social

The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC] issued a dire climate change assessment yesterday, detailing how humans have altered the environment at an unprecedented pace and warning that the world risks increasingly catastrophic impacts if we fail to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Washington Post: "The landmark report, compiled by 234 authors relying on more than 14,000 studies from around the globe, bluntly lays out for policymakers and the publi

If you are wondering why anti-vax rhetoric is so prevalent among Republicans, a new survey from the Gallup organization should help to explain the phenomenon. Trust in science has tanked over the last few decades among those that identify as Republicans, falling from 72% in 1975 to just 45% today. Among Democrats, 67% had a "great deal" of trust in 1975 and it has risen to 79% today. Gallup's results are quite remarkable, and a bit scary. Individuals with lower trust in scien

Conservatives have a long history of science-denial as historian Matthew Dallek recently explained in a piece for the Washington Post. It has its roots in the debate regarding the teaching of evolution in the early 20th century and intensified in the fight over environmental regulations after WWII. Dallek, Post: "Hostility to science became a pillar of GOP administrations. As president, George H.W. Bush mocked Al Gore as “Ozone Man,” while his son, George W. Bush, acknowledge

There have always been people who are quick to reject science and latch onto outlandish conspiracy theories, but the Trump era is something quite different. Our former President mainstreamed insanity. He was the poster child for anti-science disinformation and our pandemic death toll is his lasting legacy. For months, Trump downplayed the efficacy of mask mandates, social distancing, and stay at home orders, with deadly consequences. His supporters took his lead to claim that

There may be no one happier about the election of Joe Biden than the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci. He seems practically giddy since Trump left the White House and it's quite understandable. Yesterday he told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow that he wanted to appear on her show for "months" but was blocked by the Trump administration. He explained to Maddow that in his 40 years of working for both Republican and Democratic administrations he had never before