p2pnet - rss feed: Heartland Institute spams Canadian schools
p2pnet news | Freedom:- In a technique the corporate entertainment industry cartels have found indispensable in warping childrens’ minds, the Chicago-based Heartland Institute, which raked in a massive $791,500 from ExxonMobil between 1998 and 2006, is spamming Canadian schools with specious ‘educational’ materials.
Claiming scientists are exaggerating how human activity is the driving force behind global warming, it says it wants to, “ensure that students are provided with a ‘balanced’ education about ‘an important and controversial issue’,” says the Canwest News Service.
Critics, including a leading climate scientist, describe it as a campaign of misinformation, says the story.
The ‘institute’ sent out more than 11,000 brochures and DVDs and, “It took me a while to figure out what they were up to,” story has Eric Betteridge, who teaches at Hillcrest High School in Ottawa, saying.
The Heartland Institute says it bought the addresses of 11,250 schools across Canada, “including about 10,000 private or faith-based schools” for a, “massive mail campaign aimed at children in all provinces,” says Canwest, going on the mailing included results from international surveys of climate scientists conducted in 1996 and 2003, along with a 10-minute DVD called Unstoppable Solar Cycles: The Real Story of Greenland.
“It’s alarming that an American think tank is distributing misinformation on the most important issue of our time in Canadian schools, to actually create an illusion that there is a scientific debate,” the story has Sierra Club of Canada’s Emilie Moorhouse saying.
The brochure and DVD say scientists are “deeply divided” about “the notion that climate change is mostly the result of human activities” and, “also suggests the sun was the main factor behind recent warming recorded on the planet,” says Canwest, continuing:
“The package does not make reference to the conclusions reached by governments and scientists from around the world in their 2007 assessment of the latest peer-reviewed research on climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change wrote in its summary of a Nobel Peace Prize-winning report that global warming is unequivocal and there is a 90-per-cent chance it is being caused by humans.”
Betteridge said he was left feeling amused and distressed that someone would try to promote this material to children in the classroom, adding:
“I would be concerned because it was well written, and if somebody hadn’t been aware of what the general consensus is among climatologists about global warming, you would begin to think, ‘Wow, somebody’s giving me the wrong story here’.”
Oil money
SourceWatch says although Heartland calls itself “a genuinely independent source of research and commentary,” it’s been a frequent ally of, and funded by, the tobacco industry.
According to a 1995 internal report by Philip Morris USA on its corporate contributions budget, the company uses its contributions “as a strategic tool to promote our overall business objectives and to advance our government affairs agenda,” in particular by supporting “the work of free market ‘think tanks’ and other public policy groups whose philosophy is consistent with our point of view,” says SourceWatch, going on >>>
Roy E. Marden, a member of Heartland’s board of directors, was until May 2003 the manager of industry affairs for the Philip Morris (PM) tobacco company, where his responsibilities included lobbying and “managing company responses to key public policy issues,” which he accomplishes by “directing corporate involvement with industry, business, trade, and public policy organizations and determining philanthropic support thereto.”
Greenpeace’s ExxonSecrets website lists Heartland as having received $791,500 from ExxonMobil between 1998 and 2006, says SourceWatch.
Heartland has also had more than $400,000 from oil money-backed foundations, says desmogblog.com.
“The rise of the pseudo scientists is a very real concern,” says a comment to a Watching the Watchers Heartland post, going on:
“Like astro-turfers in blog-world they exist to muddy the waters of a debate. Essentially, the whole “global warming/ climate change” debate is a no-brainer. Do a few billion souls have an undeniable negative impact on the enviroment? Obviously they do, along with all their attendant industries. The real question behind the debate is ‘how best to cut down on dangerous emissions and create cleaner energy technology?’
“How that legitimate debate got turned into ‘Is global warming real or not?’ is at least partially explained by this story.
(Thanks, Luvie)
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.Stumble It!
Canwest News Service - Climate skeptics target students, May 5, 2008
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May 6th, 2008 at 11:51 am
And while they’re at it, why don’t they preach creationism and anti-abortion propaganda.
Once again proof that you can force people to believe—and distribute—any bullshit you want them to, as long as you have money.
May 6th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Not overly surprised… yet quite disappointed. I hope the education systems are strong and smart enough to catch these highly questionable “facts”.
I do think that Environmental concern shouldn’t be solely focused on emissions… yes it is a big factor… but what about economic and population growth? Just because there’s room to grow, doesn’t mean we should. Less people = less of a negative environmental impact. Also, instead of reducing your emissions, lets try to boost the aspects that counter these… promoting growth/wildlife. How many trees have you planted today?
May 6th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
I don’t think “corporate sponsored” material has any place in a classroom.
I do believe that Global Warming is questionable, and should not be taught as fact. Most scientific guesswork about events not directly witnessed is pure speculation, and should never be taught to children as facts.
May 6th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Hi there
I think we should have a balanced reporting system. From both sides of the story not just Al G’s point of view. As the latest news stories filter in, which msm does not publish, is that Climate change has taken a pause as stated in this head line ‘Global Warming Will Stop,’ New Peer-Reviewed Study Says, at this web site http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.Blogs&ContentRecord_id=a17defa8-802a-23ad-4912-8ab7138a7c3f&Issue_id
What we need to do as citizens is to be kind to the enviroment and don’t harm it so much, however I don’t mean to go over board like most green people beleive we need to do. Being Green is a new religion and we have to be careful that we don’t go overboard and ruin our economies. Lets stop and have an open debate on the subject and lets not call each other names since that does not get us to listen to each side.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
“suggests the sun was the main factor behind recent warming” I wouldn’t be a bit surprised. I’ve personally found it to have that effect.
@ #1 Most people believe in teaching their children common sense and decency, though it should start at home.
You however are free to teach yours your own standards or lack of them
May 7th, 2008 at 7:27 am
And while they’re at it, why don’t they preach creationism and anti-abortion propaganda.
Once again proof that you can force people to believe—and distribute—any bullshit you want them to, as long as you have money.
or Global warming… Right. Thank you very very much. Now go look in the mirror.
May 7th, 2008 at 7:51 am
Less people = less of a negative environmental impact….. True enough I suggest we start ww3 or maybe fire up the ovens and cook the
non belivers. So just what is the end run of this type of thinking? Why are our children under the care of people who think the final solution is a option?
Why is a guy who see this as a problem… a bad guy? We have to deal with this and a good start would be cleaning out our schools from top to bottom of the out of touch left wing nut jobs. They claim to protect and grow our childrens minds but in fact they hide behind them to spew their University sanctioned propaganda. I think I will pass on any public showers in the near future.
May 7th, 2008 at 8:16 am
What are we gonna do when condoms and birth control pills arn’t enough to please our left wing masters?
Why did liberals and leftists push so hard for multiculturalism when its the major cause of urban sprawl and enviromental destruction around our citys.
Why should we give a blank cheque to the very prople who created the problem in the first place?
May 7th, 2008 at 8:28 am
I haven’t been to public school for 32 years now.
Parents could help teach their kids whatever they wish but….
Most people are too busy working for the modern feudal/slave/prison system to be able to spend time with their kids.
Often it is a few useless higher-ups that reap the rewards of the work of all us lower class.
Our/your kids are next in the slave line….
For money money money but not lifestyle.
May 7th, 2008 at 8:58 am
You’re right about that, Dennis, except that we’ll probably kill off all our kids before they’re born.
May 7th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
This is the same “heart land” that issued a report (sponsored by the tobaco industry) stating the claimed adverse health effects of tobaca is junk science.
Laff.
May 8th, 2008 at 5:02 am
Frankly, they ARE overstating the effect that humans are having on global warming, period and done with. The icecaps of MARS are melting at a higher rate than anytime in the past 50 years, and there is absolutely JACK that we can do to effect that on this planet!
The real thing that is making OUR polar icecaps melt is that the sun is putting out more energy than usual and we are STILL coming out of an ice age, something that most scientists acknowledge.
We should really BAN global warming from being talked about, unless they also point out that Mars is having it’s icecaps melt at a faster rate, and that we can have absolutely no effect on that, which means that there is NO consensus that the LITTLE BIT of warming on this planet is coming from CO2 or humanity in any form.