理科 = science
離れ = distancing from sth, independence of sth, disinterest in sth
理科離れ literally means keeping distance from science. This refers to a national issue where young people have a tendency not to choose study or career paths that are related to science.
Hmm... I don't know exactly when this problem arised nor to what degree. For more information you can read the ja.wikipedia.org entry of 理科離れ. It's in Japanese though.
Buying resources out of their own pockets, spending energy and effort, with almost no return so that everyone can enjoy the cultural and entertainment products of developed countries at almost zero cost walking in the dark to serve the light, they are real heroes