a low level

I have to confess that it is my impression that in general the level of education in the United States is very low.
Today I had a very brief interchange with a man at a medical supply store,
which I cannot reproduce verbatim as I did not record it, but it went something like this:

ME: "I know I can't buy it here, but where can I buy it?"
EL PASOAN: "You'll have to go to Store XYZ."
ME: "What? Way the heck on the other side of town? This is one of the most inconvenient cities! Hasn't anyone in this city heard of global warming?"
EL PASOAN: Childish smile.
ME: It's not a joke, but thank you.

For anyone who doesn't know, there's a good web site lots of information provided by the Historian of Science, Spencer Weart, which goes with his book, The Discovery of Global Warming:
http://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.html