(Analyst's note:  This piece was written BEFORE the "Danish text" leak.)

Two weeks ago, scandal broke out when several e-mails between climate scientists at a leading global warming research institute were released to the public. The e-mails suggested that the researchers skewed the data to exaggerate signs of warming. This scandal, dubbed Climategate, could be a major blow to global warming activists.

Unfortunately, this recent scandal wasn't enough to stop the EPA from ruling yesterday that carbon dioxide is harmful to public health. Nor will it likely be enough to stop world leaders gathered in Copenhagen this week to hammer out a new climate change treaty.

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But as the Left continues to downplay the scandal as no big deal, Climategate raises serious questions regarding the integrity and factuality of global warming research. These uncertainties alone should be enough to "stop the U.S. government from embracing an ineffective solution to an overstated problem," argues Heritage expert Ben Lieberman.

This "ineffective solution" has nonetheless brought world leaders together in Copenhagen this week for the U.N.'s Climate Change conference. The underlying objective of the conference is to draft a successor treaty to the soon-to-expire Kyoto Protocol -- a treaty mandating harsh emissions reductions that could be achieved only through onerous economic controls.

An 'ineffective solution'

The United States never ratified the Kyoto treaty, and for good reasons. In a 95-0 vote, the Senate ruled that Kyoto was in clear violation of the Byrd-Hagel resolution. This resolution, writes Heritage energy expert Ben Lieberman, holds that America should "not enter into any global warming treaty that harms the American economy or leaves out major developing nations."

According to U.N. data, the Kyoto agreement's 27 European signatories actually increased their greenhouse emissions over a six-year period and Canada's emissions rose by a full fifth. Emissions in the U.S., however, decreased slightly, even though we never signed on to the treaty, explains Heritage's Conn Carroll.

But even this ignores the real problem with Kyoto. China is now the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter, and its emissions -- like those in other developing countries -- are only set to grow. Exempting these rapidly-growing, high-emitting nations from a global warming agreement would offset any reductions in Europe and the U.S.

To overcome this shortcoming, any new treaty would likely be much costlier and heap massive economic burdens on families and businesses. A recent Heritage study estimates that American households would face extra annual costs of $1,200 by 2035 under one plan to curb carbon emissions.

If it ain't broke…

The President should take all of this into account as he prepares to travel to Copenhagen next week. He must avoid signing any global warming treaty that exempts less-developed nations and harms our economy, especially when there are increasing concerns that global warming isn't quite the crisis it was cracked up to be. "Any proposed solution to global warming makes sense only to the extent global warming is a serious problem in the first place," writes Lieberman, "and there is growing reason for doubt."

> Other Heritage Work of Note

• Unlike so many other think tanks, The Heritage Foundation is not solely focused on ideas. We're also focused on solutions -- solutions to get our nation back on track -- and how to get these solutions to the media and the American people. And the media are noticing. Yesterday on his top-rated radio program, which is heard by millions of Americans, Rush Limbaugh challenged his listeners to "name another group of conservative, thoughtful, smart researchers looking out for the nation the way Heritage does. I mean, a lot of people are trying, but The Heritage Foundation, they do it the best."

• In December, the national debt will reach $12.1 trillion, but our elected leaders aren't doing anything to solve the problem. The President has "proposed a budget that would double the national debt over the next decade, dumping $100,000 per household of additional debt into the laps of our children and grandchildren," writes Heritage budget policy analyst Brian Riedl. The Left's "solution" to this overspending is tax increases, but that doesn't address the core problem. "Restraining spending is the only way to avoid the painful choice between massive budget deficits and painful tax increases," Riedl argues. Unless Washington enacts serious reforms, such as reining in runaway entitlement spending, our nation's debt will only continue to pile up.

• In his speech on Afghanistan at West Point, President Obama pointed the finger at the Bush administration for the challenges we now face there. "Yet Obama's big speech clearly adopted -- in lengthy detail -- the Bush –Cheney rationale of why the United States needs to be in Afghanistan," writes Heritage fellow Ernest Istook. "But he gave them zero credit for it." Unlike his predecessor, however, the President established an arbitrary timetable for our efforts in Afghanistan. But victory is critical and, as Heritage President Ed Feulner argues, there can be "no timetable for victory."

> In Other News

• Tens of thousands of students flooded the streets of Iran in protest on Monday, many of them shouting "Death to the dictator" and "Khamenei knows his time is up."

• Venezuela has taken shipment of thousands of Russian-made missiles and rocket launchers in preparation for a potential war with neighboring Colombia.

• Rather than using $200 billion in leftover bailout funds to pay down the deficit, which reached $12.1 trillion this month, President Obama is considering using the leftover money for a dubious new federal jobs program.

• Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has compared opponents of the Left's health care reform proposal to those who opposed the end of slavery.

• Monday marked the 68th anniversary of the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which began America's formal intervention in the Second World War. We remember those who defended freedom in that conflict, just as we honor those who defend it today.

> Coming up at Heritage

To attend these or any other events at Heritage please RSVP at Heritage's website. Or you can view these events live online. All times are Eastern.

• On Wednesday, December 9 at 12:30 p.m., Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) will deliver introductory remarks before a panel discussion on whether the personal mandate to buy health insurance is constitutional.

Amanda Reinecker is a writer for MyHeritage.org-- a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation. Nathaniel Ward, the Editor of MyHeritage.org, contributed to this report.