I should teach the world that science, natural and social, is the only method we have for discovering - or at least approaching - truth, which is potentially accessible to all human beings. Truth can be found by intellectual enquiry, experimentation and logic. Science will not replace belief, but it can reduce belief or faith to a minimum, and it can thus encourage humanity better to understand itself and the natural world.

Without science, we would return to a state of being slaves of superstition - mere playthings of natural forces. We would also likely be more subject to exploitation, by the most powerful human groups. We do not, however, need science to feel deeply, or to enjoy art and nature.

Sonja Boehmer-Christiansen is coauthor of International Environmental Policy: Interests and the Failure of the Kyoto Process (buy this book from Amazon (UK) or Amazon (USA)), and Acid Politics: Environmental and Energy Policies in Britain and Germany (buy this book from Amazon (UK) or Amazon (USA)).