Business-Managed Democracy

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During the 1970s and 80s as the modern environmental movement grew and people became more aware of environmental degradation, many companies and trade associations, particularly those involved in mining, oil, forestry and chemical manufacture turned to school materials to get their message into schools.

Forestry Fossil Fuels PlasticsChemicals

Carbon Kids is a climate change program for Australian schools funded by Shell

 

For example, the American Nuclear Society produced a kit which told children about the beneficial uses of nuclear technology and attempted to describe the problem of waste disposal in harmless terms: “Anything we produce results in some ‘leftovers’ that are either recycled or disposed of—whether we’re making electricity from coal or nuclear, or making scrambled eggs!”

Industry sponsored school materials seek to:

• promote the benefits of their products.
• downplay or omit mention of their environmental impacts.
• stress how environmentally responsible an industry or company is.
• point to new technologies that are being developed and implemented to avoid, minimise or rectify any environmental impacts.
• present pollutants and chemical inputs as natural.
• omit discussion of or dismiss alternatives to an industry’s products.
• stress what individual students and their families can do to help the environment rather than what industry should do.

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See also: Introduction | Nutrition | Economic Eduation | Official Support

References

 

© 2009 Sharon Beder
http://www.herinst.org/BusinessManagedDemocracy/education/sponsored/environment.html