The Climate Control report was covered in the Scottish Sunday Express last weekend, and I have now got my hands on a copy of the article.
Although there are a few nuances that are not quite right, and they have misunderstood the relationship between GWPF and the greenhouse effect, it's excellent stuff overall.
A LEADING climate sceptic has called for an urgent government inquiry into the way pupils are brainwashed over climate change. Andrew Montford co-wrote a critical report on environmentalism in education for the think tank Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) saying the alarmist approach adopted at schools is affecting “almost every area of curriculum”. He called for the Scottish Government to take “urgent notice” of what goes on in classrooms and carry out a probe into the “disturbing way” incorrect information is force fed to pupils. The document highlights “how eco-activism appears to have captured schools’ curricula” in the UK. It suggests there are “serious errors, misleading claims and bias through inadequate treatment of climate issues in teaching materials” with the slant “on scares and on raising fears” and urges parents to question the way sustainability and climate change are taught.
Mr Montford, a St Andrews graduate and challenger of what he calls the “global warming consensus”, said even those who do believe in it should be alarmed by their findings. He added: “We found that climate issues are taught in a variety of subjects from religious education to French, in economics, science, geography – it is astonishing just how prevalent it is. “But it is not based on scientific fact and often what is being taught is outright wrong. It is not just the sceptics who should be concerned. People need to realise what is going on. We are talking about unscientific scaremongering here. “The English seem to be getting a bit better in recognising this but Scotland is still very bad. Both [coauthor] John Shade and I are based in Scotland which is why it features so heavily in the report.” Some of the examples highlighted include a project from a Scottish primary school on the children’s understanding of global warming. A picture from the school’s website suggests pupils have been left confused about the role of the ozone layer saying it is created by the burning of fossilised fuels and is the reason for the earth’s rising temperatures.
According to Mr Montford it is a glaring example of how teachers are failing to explain the complex phenomena to their pupils. “I don’t really point particularly to teachers as being the problem here because they have a curriculum they are required to teach but some do have the green agenda,” he said. “What we find is that global warming is being taught as a definite disaster that is impending and that just isn’t right. “We need to have a proper inquiry into what’s been taught in schools and how. Education Secretary Michael Russell should action this urgently but so far the Scottish Government seem to have taken no notice.”
Last night the GWPF, which does not believe global warming is manmade, said Westminster has already expressed concerns about the apparent lack of balance south of the Border and warned teachers they could be breaking the law. Director Dr Benny Peiser added: “We commissioned the report because so many parents and pupils expressed concerns that marks had been deducted for scientifically correct answers which were not politically accepted. “It is not a full review of what is going on but the worrying snapshot it does offer should be enough to prompt an independent inquiry.” But a spokesman for the Scottish Government said it was unlikely to intervene as lesson balance was a matter for teachers and councils.