The News: Yep, conspiracy theory could be a part of your children’s public education soon, unfortunately. As revealed this month in the leak of key Heartland Institute documents, the institute is paying $100,000 a year to David E. Wojick to essentially put global warming curriculum into public schools that goes completely against the scientific consensus on this topic.
“Wojick has now spoken out, defending his intention to teach children the conspiracy theory that man-made climate change is ‘one of the great scientific debates of history,’ instead of a scientific fact built upon decades of research,” Brad Johnson of Think Progress writes. “In a Huffington Post comment, Wojick described his work as a taxpayer-funded consultant for the Department of Energy on science education, and his desire to fight “the company line about dangerous human induced warming‘”
More from Brad:
Previous comments on Huffington Post expose Wojick as an ideological conspiracy theorist, who seems to earnestly believe that the global scientific consensus on climate change is the “global warming scare,” a “catastrophe theory with an agenda,” a “political and ideological struggle,” and perhaps even “Eco-Marxism.” He makes the baseless claim that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is an “advocacy organization,” rather than the neutral scientific body it actually is.
Wojick repeats some of the most absurd canards of climate deniers, claiming that “CO2 is not pollution, it is the global food supply,” that increased CO2 “might even be beneficial,” that there has only been warming “for one 20 year period,” and that the role of CO2 in global warming is “unknown.”
Why This is Important: Unfortunately, since this guy might be influencing what your kids learn. This guy is off-the-wall crazy making these claims. Check out more on the scientific consensus that humans are causing global warming and this is a HUGE concern. And check out some of the many reasons why we know humans cause global warming. And, for a bit of fun and education, check out this great video by Peter Sinclair on the “CO2 is Plant Food” claim:
And here’s a new video by the Climate Reality Project commenting in its own way on this effort to confuse our kids:
Action Opportunities: For now, stay informed, and spread this news!
Schoolkids via shutterstock
