Fear of Facts
The same groups that have been trying to deny the seriousness of environmental problems have now begun to attack environmental education. The attack has included newspaper editorials, a report from the Independent Commission on Environmental Education (a project of the George C. Marshall Institute), and the book Facts not Fear: A Parents Guide to Teaching Children About the Environment, by Michael Sanera and Jane S. Shaw (Now in a second edition). Several environmental groups have prepared resources to counter the attack. CLEAR examined some of the errors in Facts not Fear and also looked at the Sanera and Shaw's ties to several anti-environmental groups.
NEW They ban textbooks, don't they by Frederick Clarkson. A report on how an environmental textbook was banned by the state of Texas, and the resulting lawsuit by the author.
In "A Textbook Case of Censorship" (Audubon, December 2002, page 16) Nancy Olmstead describes how several conservative groups have gotten several textbooks rejected by the Texas Board of Education by claiming that they were "unpatriotic" and "biased." In other cases coverage of environmental issues were censored or watered down. In one case a book had the following inserted: "In the past, the earth has been much warmer than it is now, and fossils of sea creatures show us that the sea level was much higher than it is today. So does it really matter if the world gets warmer?"
In FRASER INSTITUTE BOOK GROWS A LONG NOSE IN 'TEACHING' KIDS ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT Tom Sandborn takes a critical look at a Canadian version of Facts not Fears. "Facts, Not Fears, however, is not a book that lives up to the high standards of accuracy, balance and disclosure of bias it wants to demand of its targets. This is a book that is seriously flawed by factual inaccuracy, selective handling of evidence and sources, special pleading and selective inattention to inconvenient data that might dim the glittering surfaces of its authors' prejudices."
From CLEAR's report on the 1997 "Fly in for Freedom" (a "wise use" gathering):
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Two pages from PR Watch
"Classroom Warfare" (Audubon, September/October 2000) is Ted Williams' look at the battle over environmental education.
In "The Learning Tree" (E Magazine, September/October 1999, pages 28-35) Jim Motavalli takes a look at successful environmental education programs, as well as the continued attacks on EE.
Endangered
Education: How Corporate Polluters are Attacking Environmental
Education by Barbara Bohart, Marianne Manilov and Tamara Schwarz.
Includes a look at several "horror stories" used to attack environmental
education, the people and groups behind the attack, several examples of
educational materials produced by corporations, and backgrounds on members
of the Academic and Scientific Advisory Panel for Facts not Fears.
To order the report contact: The
Center for Commercial-Free Public Education, 1714
The Fall 1996 EE Advocate has several articles on the criticisms of environmental education.
Jane Shaw's comments on my web site.
Tampering with Truth, EWG's report on the latest John Stossel flap
I have read the first edition of Facts not Fears (there is a second edition but it has failed to attract much attention) and found it full of misinformation, misconceptions and political ideology:
Written by Jim Norton
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