Exxon To Teach Your Kids Climate Science – For Free!

The Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy is “a camp where teachers go and learn about math and science through fun ways!”

All free of charge! We are so lucky to have ExxonMobil Teacher Camp! A wonderful one-week intensive professional development program is for third- through fifth-grade teachers – all expenses paid by ExxonMobil.

What could possibly be in it for Exxon to teach your kids science? Well, what has been the benefit of decades of propaganda in Republican media?

"a camp where teachers go and learn about math and science through fun ways!"

The fossil energy industry has been very effective in the kind of teaching that creates a steady drip-drip alteration of public opinion over time. The wide divergence in Senate Republican and Democratic views on climate science can be attributed to the propaganda campaign that it waged over decades in Republican media, that each year results in fewer and fewer Republicans believing in the science of climate change. In 2007, there was a full 10 point drop among Senate Republicans’ agreeing that global warming is happening; to 13% from 23% the year before.

AS John Borowski at Truthout showed in 2006, the National Science Teachers Association is already co-opted by money from fossil industries. They are beholden to the company for their free educational materials, from “certain targeted supporters”. In 2006, for example, the NSTA refused free DVDs of An Inconvenient Truth because it would create an “unnecessary risk upon their capital campaign, especially certain targeted supporters.”

“Also in the email, NSTA claimed that it didn’t want to offer “political” endorsement of the film and saw “little, if any benefit to NSTA or its members” in accepting the free DVDs. No benefit to teachers?

Science teachers across the country are under-funded, overworked and often grab onto free lessons and materials as a matter of “educational survival 101.” What I find despicable is that the NSTA is fully aware of that need and, sadly, often aids and abets the “fossil fuel cartels.”

The NSTA often denies or misleads on climate change and provides teachers with everything from “coal coloring books” to misleading videos such as “Fuel-less: You Can’t Be Cool Without Fuel.”

ExxonMobil has already demonstrated that they can change minds in a subtle and sinister form of coercion. The NSTA is clearly unable to counter this propaganda. Your kids are the victims.