Three weeks ago, marine biologists reported that almost all the world's coral reefs could be dead by the end of the coming century. One month ago, the Red Cross reported that natural disasters uprooted more people in 1998 than all the wars and conflicts on earth combined. Dr Norman Myers calculates that 25m people have already been displaced by environmental change, and this will rise to 200m within 50 years. The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine reports that nine of the 10 most dangerous diseases carried by insects and other vectors are likely to spread as a result of global warming. The British government's chief scientist has warned that climate change could cause the Gulf Stream to grind to a halt.
Climate change is perhaps the gravest calamity our species has ever encountered.
Its impact dwarfs that of any war, any plague, any famine we have confronted so far. It makes genocide and ethnic cleansing look like sideshows at the circus of human suffering. The rich are at play in the world's killing fields. And yet, far from addressing this catastrophe, we curse or mock anyone who draws attention to it. John Prescott's efforts to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels are undermined by other departments at every opportunity.