The Gulf Stream brings warm water from the tropics to Britain keeping us at a pleasant temperature. Without it, our climate would resemble that of Labrador or parts of Siberia. Our agriculture would be destroyed. Britain plc would be found only in history books.
In 1997 some scientists said that this could happen in our lifetime. The US National Academy of Sciences now confirms that the change is "likely", adding that change occurs as when "the slowly increasing pressure of a finger eventually flips a switch and turns off the light".
The top political issue, globally, is to find a mechanism for phasing out the use of fossil fuels. Yet our government is only concerned with short term electoral issues and sacked Michael Meacher, the only minister prepared to draw attention to the priorities of the real world.
