Yesterday, we brought you the disturbing story of Build-a-Bear’s on-line video series warning kids that the North Pole may completely disappear in just a few days, threatening Christmas. (Average December temperature in the North Pole is around minus 40 degrees Farenheit.) Needless to say, the story received a lot of attention and sparked several organized efforts to boycott the company’s products. By the end of what must have been a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day in Build-a-Bearville, CEO and Founder Maxine Clark published the following letter to the public:

build a bear letter pdf -

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Attention Santas:

This missive is directed at the guardians of, and donors to, tiny humans. If you fall into that category you likely are already familiar with Build-A-Bear, a world-wide corporation that provides the most innocent of services. They sell customizable stuffed animals. Make your own bear, dog…penguin. Cute concept.

So cute, in fact, that the Build-A-Bear empire sweeps across nearly every state and into 17 other countries. You’ll find their outlets in shopping malls everywhere and even some ballparks. The company also has a website called Build-A-Bearville.com where children can play an interactive video game that, on it’s surface, is unlikely to raise suspicion or sound alarms.

But when your unsuspecting tot logs on and hops a virtual train to the North Pole…you should know that he or she will be informed — by Santa Claus — that Christmas may be canceled this year due to Global Warming. Below is part two of the 3-part video.

Over the weekend I received an email that, on its face, might appear to be rather strange. It read: “planet warming is a serious issue that must be substantiated immediately!”

What’s facially odd is that this insistence on the truth of the author’s belief, and clarion call for comrades to somehow back said dogma up, came on a list-serve for the “World Environmental Journalists”. To be honest, I have no idea how I got on this list, but I do read the missives regularly and the message was fairly typical in its tone and content.

The entirety actually read “[J]ust to restate the obvious (I’ve personally experienced the effects while researching my global islands project): planet warming is a serious issue that must be substantiated immediately!”

Although a quick search revealed the author boasting of personal experience with planet warming to be more an activist than a professional journalist, his activism is common among the profession. I mention this in the context of noting how the media are treating – rather, refusing to treat – that about which they would be in hysterics if it were warming rather than cooling.

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