I would think climate science falls under the broader term of earth science. But that's just my opinion. I may be 'technically' wrong.

"There is a big problem in the USA with the large percentage of people who don't believe in evolution, think the earth is less than 10,000 years old, think climate change evolution is a hoax put on by people like me. I just was talking to an old friend who has a geology degree and he thinks it is a hoax that we landed on the moon."

I understand your frustration. I often feel the world is slipping into a new Dark Ages.

One thing I'd like to point out in your statement is the specific phrase "believe in evolution." I don't feel the word "believe" should ever be used in this context (or science in general) as it implies taking something on faith. This just fuels a misconception by those who do not understand science as a discipline that scientists are "dogmatic" and "faithful". By my personal interpretation of science, there is no room for belief. No scientist believes anything. They accept explanations based on facts. Nothing is taken on pure faith.

To generalize more, I think it is our duty as scientifically minded persons to be careful how we say things such that it does not give the wrong impression. Granted, many of those on the 'other side' so-to-speak who do not understand science are making these judgmental errors about science and scientists due to their very lack of understanding and through no fault of our own. But we as scientists could do better by trying to understand their misconceptions and failures to find better ways of explaining ourselves such that they might understand better. In other words, try to see it from their point of view and figure out how to correct their misunderstandings from their own point of view. Admittedly, not an easy task at times.

"Understanding is a three edged sword."

If there's any Babylon 5 fans here, you'll understand what this means right away. Basically it means is that there are three ways of looking at something: your way, my way, and the truth. We should always ALWAYS seek the truth. Not only must we do our best to bring others to the truth (to educate others about science), we must temper ourselves, challenge ourselves to make sure that we also seek the truth (to not stray away from science and become dogmatic and faithful).

Funny thing is, I also have a problem with the use of the word 'truth'. It often seems that in usage there is a difference between truth and fact. Facts are undeniable, inherent and fundamental. Truths seem to be interpretations of facts. So perhaps we should say that we seek facts, not truths.

In fact, Indiana Jones said to his class, "Archaeology is the search for fact ... not truth. If it's truth you're interested in, Dr. Tyree's philosophy class is right down the hall."

Brian