Does BP Have an ACE Up Its Sleeve on Climate Education?
A CMD Special Report by Anne Landman and Ross Wolfarth
In May, PRWatch reported on a controverisal new group, “Balanced Education for Everyone” (BEE), that is trying to stop public schools from teaching kids about climate change science. BEE argues that teaching climate change is too scary for kids and “unnecessary.” But BEE’s efforts also raised other questions, like what are kids learning about climate change in school, anyway, and who is influencing it?
It turns out that the issue of who is influencing climate change education in public schools has been flying under the radar screen. Especially now, as school budgets are being slashed and schools are increasingly desperate for resources, it is also an area ripe for corporate exploitation or influence, and that may be just what is happening.
Enter, “ACE”
In July of 2008, a new nonprofit organization called the “Alliance for Climate Education, Inc.” (ACE), zoomed onto the scene to suddenly become a huge player in the much-overlooked field of climate education. ACE offers high schools free multimedia assemblies on climate change that utilize “cutting-edge animation, music and video.” In short, this is not the usual low-budget presentation that school assemblies are known for.
