What does the apparent deficit in scientific knowledge portend for the United States?

Here is an interesting quote from a poll that was just deleted from a new NSF report:

45% of Americans in 2008 answered true to the statement, “Human beings, as we know them today, developed from earlier species of animals.” The figure is similar to previous years and much lower than in Japan (78%), Europe (70%), China (69%), and South Korea (64%). The same gap exists for the response to a second statement, “The universe began with a big explosion,” with which only 33% of Americans agreed. Here is the source

How do you feel about these unreported figures? What do you think it means for us as a Nation? How concerned are you?