A part of the problem may also be that physics is decidedly one of the "harder" sciences that requires equipment and/or experiment to convey concepts clearly. That means that it can't really be effectively conveyed in a casual setting, leaving devoted education the only real option.

I know that I find the current trend of streaming students who aren't destined for the sciences into a single general "science" course (as opposed to the individual disciplines) in high school troubling. In theory it teaches a little of chemistry, physics, and biology. While this is a benefit when only two sciences are actually required for graduation, so that one isn't completely neglected, I can't escape the (perhaps mistaken) conviction that neither biology, chemistry, or physics can be adequately taught without devoting at least a semester to each exclusively. I wish I had some effective solutions to offer to the dilemma, but aside from saying "Teach more! Teach better!" I don't know that the answer is, either.