Today marks the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin.  There is even a website devoted to the 200th anniversary marking the birth of this distinguished naturalist: Darwin Day.org

Fox News mentions Gallup and Pew polls which show that fewer than 4 in 10 Americans believe that evolution is factual (Fox News article). The Gallup poll found a significant link between understanding of evolution and education, ”Just 21 percent of respondents who had up to a high school level of education believe in evolution, compared with 74 percent of those with postgraduate degrees.” It is a little surprisingly that only 74% of those holding post grad degrees accept evolution as fact. ”Among weekly churchgoers, only 24 percent said they believe in evolution, while 41 percent do not and 35 percent have no opinion.” Fox News also offers several links to evolutionary articles and hosts it’s own online center.

Missing Links

Fox News Evolutionary and Paleontology Center

Celebrations today in Britain include exhibitions of artifacts, tours, and, at the Bristol Zoo if you visit wearing a real or fake beard (certainly non sexist), you get in for free (Bristol Zoo). Quoted from an article on the Bristol Zoo site, ”Simon Garrett, Head of Learning at Bristol Zoo Gardens, said: “Darwin is now a household name and, over the last 150 years, his ideas have revolutionised our understanding of nature and our place within it. Bristol Zoo’s ‘beard day’ is a fun way of commemorating Darwin’s life and work while allowing visitors to find out more about his theories.” ” ”Among the biggest celebrations is at the Natural History Museum in London which is putting on films, talks and pea soup, cooked to the recipe of Darwin’s wife, Emma.” And, at 5:45 pm today there will be a wreath-laying ceremony at Darwin’s grave in Westminster Abbey.

So how are we doing as a nation at the close of the Bush presidency.  Take a look at these statistics reflecting the USA’s place in the world according to a number of vital parameters for an established and developed nation.  All of these scores were culled from another site that had compiled them throughout the Bush years, some of them have worsened over the past few years.

What will it take to make America truthfully, ”the greatest nation on the earth?”

1) Adult Literacy:
USA #9, Sweden #1, Norway #2

2) Healthcare Quality Index:
USA #37, #1 France, #2 Italy

3) Student Reading Ability:
USA #12, Finland #1, South Korea #2

4) Student Problem Solving Ability:
USA #26, South Korea #1, Finland #2

5) Student Ranking on Mathematics Ability:
USA #24, Hong Kong #1, Finland #2

6) Student Ranking on Science Ability:
USA #19, Finland #1, Japan #2

7) USA Ranking on Life Expectancy:
USA #29, Japan #1, Hong Kong #2

USA Ranking on Political Corruption Index:
USA #17, Iceland #1, Finland #2

9) USA Ranking on Environmental Sustainability Index:
USA #45, Finland #1, Norway #2

10) USA Ranking on Infant Mortality:
USA #32, Sweden #1, Finland #2