Why is it that parts of the non-scientific community seem to expand their disbelief in science, especially in a well developed country like USA? Do scientists come across as a bunch of elitists?

I think it’s context. Folks whose immediate family, friends, and so on may tend to disbelieve earth science because they read Genesis 1 as both history and science, when it’s certain to be liturgy, a Deed of Title, and nothing more than that. They wind up experiencing enormous “cognitive dissonance” with climate scientists whose work helps in any way to establish that this third rock from the sun isn’t really new, hence can have “climates” going back millions of years.

It’s also a truism that people tend to “vote their wallet,” and find rationalizations after the fact to support their choices. This includes those who dispute the proven truth that man has changed and continues to wreck the climate. Carbon producing industries, beginning with coal and oil but going well beyond that constitute a powerful lobby. Opportunistic lobbyists and politicians pay attention; the cynical adage that “Money talks” is actually a truism.

If you’re not from there, I doubt you have any problems with science at all.

Those who feel committed to the idea that the gigatons of CO2 we put into the atmosphere annually have nothing to do with changing earth’s climate are the ones who value politicians’ understanding of science highly, and accuse scientists of having a poor grasp of politics. No one likes science with they find inconvenient.

With regard to Genesis 1 (and bearing in mind that Genesis 2 posits an alternate Creation account) I believe that GOD said “Let there be light” as in Genesis 1:3. The Word expressed it, as of the opening verses of the Gospel of John. But that happened 13-odd billion years ago as we know it. Who on earth am I to second-guess GOD’s timing, technique, or means of revealing Himself? Especially when GOD did say, “Look into the heavens to see my signs and wonders,” but did not say “. . but don’t look too close, lest you become confused.”

Looking into the heavens has, in the past century-plus, shown us signs and wonders that paint a far far more vivid picture of Creation. So it’s also 13.8 billion years old? Who am I to second-guess GOD’s timing and methods? – Especially when ‘vast’ turns out to mean two hundred sextillion stars in the visible universe?