The Copenhagen Climate Change Summit Killed My Teddy Bear

While people may still argue the merits of human impact on climate change, none can argue that a girl losing her teddy bear is really, really sad. Especially when she loses it because the earth opens up and eats it. All because of your SUV.

In what has got to be the most dramatic opening to a climate change conference, the planners at Copenhagen screened this 4:13 mini-sode about a girl's nightmares of the world to come. It ends with a plea that makes you feel like crap, but before then the music composition and the imagery is quite nice, so long as you don't mind total global catastrophe.

Highlights from the film include: the earth swallowing a child's teddy bear, and a father confirming his daughter's worst fears that, yes, her generation is doomed.

While the video shocked and awed some of the viewers, not surprisingly, oil-rich Saudi Arabia was non-plussed and continued to mention how discrediting the leaked e-mails were from what is now being called "ClimateGate," calling into question the validity of global warming and marking another chapter in a decades-long debate.

What isn't clear in this heated debate (get it?) is motive. Clearly, countries like Saudi Arabia and interest groups tied to the fossil fuels of the internal combustion engine have a vested interest in downplaying concerns about human-impact on global warming. And I understand how developing nations would like the same access to cheap energy that helped kick start our industrial revolution.

But what motive do the scientists have? Is there some pot of gold for hippie scientists that hasn't been mentioned? Do they secretly hate cars and coal? Are scientists so anxious to stick it to the man that they'll distort decades of scientific data just to piss off Exxon?

Or are they trying to defend teddy bears from certain doom? Won't someone think of the teddy bears?