“The dumbing-down of society is not going to help us very much in the future,”

Nor will the "dumbing-down" of science by those who conflate Hollywood-style hysteria with fact. I am an actual scientist who believes that global warming is a benign and good thing, something that's overwhelmingly supported by the history of our planet. Both plant and animal life have always flourished under such conditions, but, of course, there may be localized disruptions. Others wildly speculate that this time it's different, based on the ravings of political "scientists" like Al Gore.