I think it is the political associations, real or perceived, that seem to set it off: AGW deniers see AGW as a plot to increase government control, see envornmentalists as a bunch of tree-huggers who want us all to live in lean-tos and wipe our butts with toilet paper.

And the science is too broad and complicated to fit into the sound-byte format of modern reporting, which makes it easy to pluck a few contradictory bits out at present them as proof that AGW is all a plot against humanity.