It is a well-publicized fact that the fossil fuel industry engaged in a decades-long strategy of deception and denial where climate change was concerned, even going so far as to bury evidence from its own scientists. Past tense, right? Well, apparently not when it comes to setting science education standards for Texas public schools. The long tentacles of the fossil fuel industry (primarily Big Oil and Big Gas) are still hard at work, trying to dictate what school children will learn about how the Earth works and how “informed” citizens should act, presumably so that the industry can continue to earn a few extra dollars while the planet spins towards a climate catastrophe.
I just came across the following description of how the industry has worked to rewrite K-12 science standards adopted by Texas school boards:
“And yet, as I learned when I watched 40 hours of live and archived board hearings, reviewed scores of public records and interviewed 15 people involved in the standard-setting process, members of the fossil-fuel industry participated in each stage of the Texas science standards adoption process, working to influence what children learn in the industry’s favor. Texas education officials convened teams of volunteers to rewrite the existing standards, and industry members volunteered for those writing teams and shaped the language around energy and climate. Industry members rallied to testify each time proposals to revise standards got a public hearing. When the board considered the rewritten standards for final approval, the industry appealed to members to advance their favored amendments, ensuring that the seemingly local drama in Austin will have outsized consequences.”
“Subverting Climate Science in the Classroom” by Katie Worth, Scientific American, 1 July 2022
The article goes on to describe how industry-supported representatives fought tooth-and-nail over each word in the standards in order to raise questions about the need, or even the benefit, of moving away from a fossil fuel-driven economy. And also, how the large size of the Texas school system virtually guarantees that the content of science textbooks will be rewritten to meet the system’s fossil fuel-friendly science standards.
