Question (somewhat late)

Hello all,

Because the blog was down and you had papers due, I decided not to give this question last week. Please try to answer it by Tuesday evening.

Identify a scientific or technical issue that is misunderstood to some extent by (at least some of) the public and which is currently being disputed or negotiated. Try to find something that is very important that people understand, but which is either obscure or complicated enough that many people do not currently "get it." Give a brief overview of what the issue is and why you think it is not understood as well as it should be. (Think about something that may be fodder for your 3rd paper if you can.)