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People are better disposed towards science and technology than they
were a year ago, says David Attenborough, this year’s president of the British
Association. In his presidential address, he quoted the results of a Daily
Telegraph poll published this week which showed that only 11 per cent of
those questioned think that the effects of science are ‘quite harmful or
disastrous’. This is an enormous improvement on last year when 20 per cent
were anti-science.

Better still, 81 per cent of those polled were positively in favour
of science, judging it to have a moderately, or even ‘enormously beneficial’
effect on their lives.

People’s general understanding of science also seems to have improved.
To find out about how life began, 20 per cent of those polled said they
would visit a religious leader, but almost twice as many, 37 per cent, would
consult a biologist.

‘Asked if they thought that science robs life of its spiritual meaning,
16 per cent thought that it did,’ said Attenborough. ‘But 76 per cent, an
overwhelming majority, agreed that it brought a wonderful insight into their
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Despite the encouraging findings, Attenborough warned that people’s
growing appetite for science could be dulled if today’s high-quality science
and technology programmes on prime-time television are pushed aside as ITV
moves downmarket and the BBC commissions more programmes from independent
producers (see Comment, this issue).

He also warned that the BA, one of the mainstays of popular science,
will be unable to fulfil its ambitious new programme to broaden its activities
unless new benefactors come forward. The BA has an annual budget of around
£800 000. Peter Briggs, the executive secretary of the BA, says that
the association needs an extra £2 million spread over the next five
years.