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https://www.wired.com/story/plastics-companies-writing-lesson-plans-what-could-go-wrong/>
"This fall, 54 million K-12 students are headed back to the classroom for
another year of lessons in all the classic subjects: math, English, history,
biology. But there’s another subject that’s been sneaking into school
curricula: plastics.
A new report from the nonprofit Plastic Pollution Coalition documents the many
ways the plastics industry has been inserting its agenda into classrooms across
the US—including through lesson plans and worksheets, hands-on science
experiments, and a program called “PlastiVan” that travels from city to city
teaching students about “the contribution plastics make to modern life.”
Industry interests offer these resources to teachers for free or for cheap,
according to the report. The materials tend to highlight the necessity of
plastics while downplaying their significant downsides to human health and the
environment.
“When that information is provided to kids, it obfuscates the true impacts of
plastic pollution,” said Madison Dennis, senior policy and advocacy manager for
Plastic Pollution Coalition and one of the report’s main authors. Besides
harming marine life, plastics can expose people to hazardous chemicals, clog
storm drains and contribute to flooding, and release planet-warming greenhouse
gases. The Plastic Pollution Coalition is calling for stricter school policies
against the use of industry-sponsored learning materials.
The report lays out four case studies of plastics industry “propaganda” for
schoolkids. One involves the Society of Plastics Engineers, or SPE, a trade
group that recently became a division of the Plastics Industry Association.
SPE’s lesson plans include activities like a “plastic scavenger hunt,” which
aims for students to “understand that plastics are ubiquitous and their
importance to society and their personal life.” A video titled “Your Bottle
Means Jobs” explains how plastics recycling supports local employment."
Via Christoph S.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
