Penalties for All, as the United Kingdom Battles Over Energy

(MoneyWatch)  The United States has had its share of strong voices urging action -- or inaction -- on climate change. But it's across the pond that things are really heating up. In the United Kingdom, it looks like the two sides might soon be holding pitched battles.

Most serious are escalating intimidation tactics being used by both climate protestors and police. The latest example of this was a pre-emptive raid by 200 police officers on over a hundred people who were allegedly planning a protest at a two gigawatt coal station owned by E.On, near Ratcliffe-on-Soar. Following the raid, police also seized computers and other potential evidence.

It's unlikely that sort of raid would pass muster in the US, unless the protestors had been planning to take bombs along with them. In England, though, it's not unprecedented. More to the point, the police were likely trying to save face after past climate protests at power plants, including the non-violent hijacking of a train on its way to a coal plant last year.

All indications suggest that the climate change protestors will continue their antics, and the police will continue attempting to put a lid on those efforts. But north of England, the Scottish head of the WWF has a different idea for government action -- this time targeting people who are insufficiently observant of global warming.

According to the director, Dr. Richard Dixon, people who will not modify their homes or habits to reduce energy use are "anti-social" and should be legislated against. That wouldn't mean police raids, though it might mean the government ordering action and penalizing those who don't take it.