The revolutionary's Christmas tree

Robin McKie in The Observer on the social costs of climate change.

After decades of waiting, the green movement has found the cause of its dreams: a crisis that gives them carte blanche, they believe, to rule our lives. Hairshirts are being knitted and the self-righteous are gathering...

Climate change is a bigger, more pernicious problem [than ozone depletion] and will require broader, more intense efforts to cut back on carbon emissions, which, in turn, offers more opportunities for campaigners and politicians to hijack a sound cause to gain control of people's lives. 'That is the striking thing about global warming,' says Myles Allen, of Oxford's climate dynamics group. 'It is a Christmas tree on which each of us can hang virtually everything we want.'