Scientists are losing the competition for the public's attention, writes the Population Institute's Robert Walker at the Huffington Post's Green Blog. When scientists do receive attention, they are often disregarded, or worse. "We live in the Era of Willful Ignorance. It is not only acceptable; it is fashionable to throw scientific caution to the wind," Walker writes. Politicians, then, shy away from acting on any warnings from the scientific community, which Walker says will not be looked kindly upon by history. "I don't know how we translate scientific warnings into actionable awareness, but the key, I suspect, is making people understand that the future is now," he adds.