'Ignore science at your peril,' warn experts

VANCOUVER - A stark theme emerged from an annual scientific get-together in Vancouver: the world must be helped to believe in science again or it could be too late to save our planet.

Science is "under siege," top academics and educators were warned repeatedly at the American Association for the Advancement of Science summit as they were urged to better communicate their work to the public.

Scientific solutions are needed to solve global crises from food and water shortages to environmental destruction "but the public now does not understand science," US climate change activist James Hansen told the meeting.