It’s hard to enjoy the beautiful, unseasonably mild weather unaccompanied by the nagging suspicion that it’s a consequence of climate change.

To wonder out loud, though, is to risk the wrath of an increasing number of ordinary Americans who simply don’t accept the scientific consensus that human activity is the chief cause of rising global temperatures.

The repudiation of science isn’t limited to climate and it isn’t new. Most of us are scientifically illiterate with only a rudimentary understanding of the scientific method. It makes us susceptible to easily debunked claims, like Jenny McCarthy telling women to ignore the scientific evidence on vaccinations or NBA star Kyrie Irving proclaiming the Earth is, indeed, flat.

It’s one thing for misinformed celebrities to mangle science. It’s quite another for the new chief of the Environmental Protection Agency to reject the significance of carbon dioxide as a factor in climate change.

Read more at The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.