To follow on from Curmudgeon's point about snow, I once had a friend who was completely taken in by that. He rushed off to the snow in about 2007 or 08, utterly convinced that he'd better go before it was too late, and urged me to do the same while we still had some snow. Incredible.

The reason people see AGW through their cultural and social worldview is because AGW IS a cultural and social worldview.

The ideology of AGW is all there is; there is no science. AGW is Gaia, pristine nature and humanity's usurpation of the purity of those concepts.

This why there is such a strong, indeed dominant theme of misanthropy running through AGW promulgation; at base AGW is anti-human and all the key parts of AGW theory demonstrate this; see;

http://theclimatescepticsparty.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/our-abc-green-narrative.html

Cohenite, yes there is a strong thread of misanthropy running through the climate debate and always has been. What I find most alarming is that those who promote the idea that humans are a 'cancer on the earth' are the last to see themselves as part of the problem. Apparently when you publicly admonish your fellow humans for their apparent sins against Gaia you are entitled to be let off the hook.

As well as being misanthropic AGW believers have other characteristics as well:

http://theclimatescepticsparty.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/how-to-be-really-good-climate-change.html

Not so much misanthropy, I think -- more like desperate boredom. These are people whose lives are so dreary and dull that only the prospect of the end of the world can give them the motivation to get out of bed. In their minds they're not just pathetic bank clerks and research assistants and data analysts leading comfortable, dull lives; they're eco-warriors, fighting to save a world balanced on the edge of disaster!

And the nice thing is, it's so easy! Turn off a light now and then, abuse a few 'deniers', and you too can look forward to a future where adoring grandchildren cluster round your armchair while you tell them how you saved the planet from those wicked capitalists!

The only reason I can think of why AGW is so compelling for so many people is because it seems to make their trivial existence interesting and important.

Good article. The resistance to the science is almost entirely political in nature as evidenced by the personal hostility shown by sceptics. It's not like they are hearing "something is going on we need to look into"...more like "we are going to take over your freedoms...for your own good!". Alarmism is being used by both "sides" and it is just polarising the opinions (just like politics). Just goes to show that tribal extremism is not good for balanced discussion!
The climate most certainly is changing based on ice loss, ocean currents, sea surface temps, land temps, etc. Unless you subscribe to the "all climate scientists are incompetent or involved in a plot" then we can probably agree that increased CO2 is making something go on. Sadly we are past the point where policy can do much about it.
It is all "adaptation" from here whether we like it or not...but when has this not been the case?