Will the National Science Teachers Convention Welcome the Native Forest Council Amongst Climate Change Deniers?
    By John F. Borowski
    t r u t h o u t | Guest Contributor

    Friday 02 March 2007

    Truthout posted a story on January 25th in which the Native Forest Council, a "David" wishing for a chance to have a booth in the land of corporate "Goliaths" at the National Science Teachers Association's convention in St. Louis, asked a simple question. The question was earnest and heartfelt: would parents and citizens help fund a trip to the conference to challenge big oil, coal and timber's reluctance to acknowledge climate change? In the last few weeks, nearly $6,000 in donations answered the above question with a resounding "Yes!" We have been told to go to the NSTA conference and help teachers recognize the crucial need to educate students about the science of climate change, the role of our nation's forests in stabilizing the climate, and the real solutions needed to reverse climate change.

    We will bring copies of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth," the same production that the NSTA refused to distribute to its own membership of 55,000 individuals. NSTA's refusal to accept these Academy Award-winning DVDs is a driving force behind our attempt to challenge big timber, oil and coal educational propagandists - who have lied about climate change - and provide real science, not "the best science coal/oil/timber profits can buy." Part of our display will show teachers the bogus science materials that downplay climate change and portray clear-cuts as smiling faces: free, omission-riddled educational materials intended to confuse and mislead teachers and their students. We will engage teachers with peer-reviewed science and the moral high ground of having the best interest of children's education at heart. Neither the American Petroleum Institute (API) nor Weyerhaeuser can claim the same, but we know all too well that their massive booths will bamboozle unsuspecting educators.

    The Native Forest Council's executive director, Tim Hermach, and I will bring our latest "Forest Voice," which outlines the science and politics behind climate change. Our materials will discuss climate change solutions and ways to incorporate climate change data into various curriculums. We will provide hundreds of copies of a free PowerPoint production ("Native Forests Are Not Tree Farms") that outlines the crucial role of forests, their succession, the current rate of logging on national forests, and their complex ecology. Forests are irreplaceable carbon storehouses, yet massive fragmentation and brutal clear-cutting is savaging this crucial biome on our nation's own public lands. The portion of all carbon dioxide "emissions" worldwide from lost forestland stands at an amazing 25 percent!

    A recent study found that 400-year old forests in southern China soak up carbon from the atmosphere considerably faster than expected, most of which is stored in the top levels of the soil. The Native Forest Council's PowerPoint program clearly outlines emerging scientific consensus that plantation forestry, converting native forests into tree farms, may in fact lead to greater carbon release - particularly if planting occurs on formerly native forest ecosystems. Teachers must know the real science behind the incredible role that our 200 million acres of national forests serve as intact ecosystems: the respiratory machinery of the earth second only to the oceans!

    In the 1/25/07 story I called for an "act three" where an organization like ours could set up amongst the "big money" booths of Weyerhaeuser, Project Learning Tree, the Coal Industry and the American Petroleum Institute (API). Act three is coming to fruition, yet, this cannot be a "one shot deal." Instead this must be the first salvo of a fight to protect children from corporate spun science and place environmental education as a front-page story from coast to coast.

    We have asked many of the big green groups to help with free visuals and posters: and we still await their chance to help. I will only be bringing a couple of hundred of Al Gore's videos to the conference, and I am working hard to secure more: thousands more for teachers and their students. If I had my way, I would also provide thousands of copies of the DVD "Oil on Ice," a compelling story about why drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a cruel hoax. This DVD does a spectacular job of connecting the dots behind our oil addiction, our lack of a "land ethic" and the growing problem of climate change. The beauty of the visuals, the entireness of climate change solutions and the conscience behind the "love of land" explained by native Alaskans is the best educational tool I have ever used. As an educator of 26 years, I recommend you show this DVD first and then "An Inconvenient Truth."

    Imagine this one-two punch in classrooms across America. Give the kids facts and unforgettable visuals, give them "real science" and give them solutions. These solutions bring hope and empower them as the potentially, most powerful and ecologically caring voters and doers in human history. Most climate scientists state that we need an 80 to 90 percent reduction in carbon emissions worldwide this coming decade. The next generation may not have the ability to "undo" the damage if we allow this generation to be made "comfortably numb" by false promises of the American Petroleum Institute and the American Forest Foundation.

    Climate change is real and can be solved. Children as caring, ecologically fluent citizens and dynamic teachers can change the world. We will bring these messages to St. Louis. We are thankful for the hundreds of kind letters and the heartfelt donations from readers across the country. We will keep you posted on our efforts, and we will represent your concerns in St. Louis!

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    John F. Borowski is an environmental science teacher of 26 years, and he advises the Native Forest Council on education issues. He can be reached at jenjill@peak.org.