Posted on 22 September 2023 by BaerbelW

Climate Town is the YouTube channel of Rollie Williams and a ragtag team of climate communicators, creatives and comedians. They examine climate change in a way that doesn’t make you want to eat a cyanide pill. Get informed about the climate crisis before the weather does it for you.

The latest episode of Climate Town, is devoted to "The Brainwashing of America's School Children." Host Rollie Williams discusses the history of fossil-fuel-industry propaganda aimed at students, with a focus on material from the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board, such as "Petro Pete" and "Lab Time with Leo." This entertaining yet disturbing video outlines the many horrific ways that the fossil fuel industry target children by getting their pro-industry/pro-fossil fuel propaganda into classrooms.

"Making the Grade?" — the 2020 study of the treatment of climate change in state science standards from the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) and the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund — is discussed (at 20:30), and NCSE's Deputy Director Glenn Branch is thanked for his assistance toward the end (at 27:20).

At 23:30 Rollie Williams mentions the guide for taking action that Climate Town had Climate Changemakers developed to accompany this episode in order to require climate education. The goal is to urge local school boards and state boards of education in the U.S. to require scientifically robust climate change education at the K-12 level and to prepare teachers accordingly by providing professional development on climate change. If you live in the U.S. you might want to check it out here.