ABSTRACT
The relationship between climate and society has been dynamic throughout human history and pre-history, a relationship that has been variously elemental, creative and fearful. The relationship has now taken a more intimate turn. Human actions, globally aggregated, are changing the composition of the atmosphere which alters the functioning of the climate system. Future climates will not be like past climates. We have often worried about this possibility and now the knowledge claims of science have offered new reasons to be concerned. Humanity is now firmly embedded within the functioning of the climate system, whilst at the same time the idea of climate change is penetrating and changing society in novel ways. The past (through historic emissions of greenhouse gases) and the future (through descriptions of climates to come) are interacting in new ways to provide a novel motor for cultural change. This is all happening under the symbolism of global warming.
