Texas proposes rewriting school text books to deny manmade climate change.
I don't think I need to tell you how disheartening it is to read stories like this, just days away from what will be the largest peoples march in history on September 21, followed by the UN Climate Summit to be held in New York on September 23. The Guardian reported today, that an analysis of proposed 6th grade texts in Texas show they 'falsely claim' scientific disagreement about global warming, and that Texas has proposed to have them re-written to include passages denying the existence of climate change. This is truly unacceptable, and shows just how far some have to go until they get the point on climate change. The point being, that there is no more debate! Education is the most important tool to prepare younger generations for the future they're likely to inherit, and to mobilise them to live better than their predecessors. Schools cannot be the battleground for a fight between the generations who are long past their school days. Furthermore, it emerged that the science section of these revised textbooks had been altered to reflect the doctrine of the Heartland Institute, an ultra-conservative think tank which has been funded by the Koch oil billionaires and is famous for putting on events like the annual climate deniers conference. Hmmm...something is definitely not right here. The views of Heartland given prominence over the findings from thousands upon thousands of scientists, 97 percent who believe climate change is happening and that humans are causing it. What???? Minda Berbeco of the National Centre for Science Education, said that the disinformation was a disservice to a new generation of Texans who will have to deal with climate change. “Climate change will be a key issue that future citizens of Texas will need to understand and confront, and they deserve social studies textbooks that reinforce good science and prepare them for the challenges ahead,” she said in a statement. The proposed text books come up for public hearing at the Texas state board of education on Tuesday. Tuesday, the same day as the UN Climate Summit, when over 125 leaders will be gathering in New York to talk bold action and commitments on climate change. It's hard to think the two events will be taking place on the same day, in the same country. It just shows, we still have a long way to go. I don't lose hope though. Never lose hope. What I think is that action on climate change is like a wildfire, excuse the pun, but once its going, its hard to snuff out!Want action on climate change now?
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