PETITION CLOSED

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Tell Scholastic: Don't Publish Dirty Energy Educational Guides
  1. Signatures
    405 out of 500
    Petitioning
    1. Scholastic, Education and Libraries (+ 3 others)
      Petitioning
      close
      • Scholastic, Education and Libraries (Dina Paul-Parks)
      • Scholastic, Community Affairs and International ( (Cathy Lasiewicz)
      • VP, Corporate Communications (Kyle Good)
      • President and CEO (Richard Robinson)
  2. Created By
    Jess Leber
    Washington, DC
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates

With the help of Scholastic, Inc., one of the largest educational publishers in the nation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce plans to distribute a series of teaching guides to 100,000 classrooms nationwide.

The guide, entitled "Shedding Light on Energy," discusses how much coal and oil our nation uses today and ends with the wrap-up question: “What do you think could happen if one of our energy sources was suddenly unavailable (e.g., power plant maintenance, government curb on production, etc.)?”

As NRDC points out, the Chamber of Commerce has spent millions of dollars lobbying against climate and clean energy policies, has 12 lawsuits pending against EPA regulations that would protect children's health, and has worked to instill fear about stricter offshore drilling oversight.

While they don't provide the answer to the question the guide asks, the answer—and the fear—is implied. What's more there is not a single mention of the damaging health and environmental impacts of our reliance on fossil fuels.

Is this what you want kids to learn in school?

If not, then sign this petition, which calls on Scholastic to end its partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and put the teaching guide in the recycling bin where it belongs.

Why People Are Signing
Recent Signatures

Stop Distributing Energy Lobbyist Teaching Materials

Dear Scholastic,

I am writing to express my concern about Scholastic’s “Shedding Light on Energy” partnership with the US Chamber of Commerce.

The materials that have been made public fail to shed much light on the critical consequences of our energy use and fail to challenge students to think of creative solutions to our energy problems. They also appear to neglect topics that Scholastic's own "Kids' Environmental Report Card" identifies as important.

In addition, the US Chamber has a long record of opposing efforts to protect children from dangerous chemicals and pollutants like mercury, smog and phthalates.

Kids today are will be our leaders tomorrow. We owe them – and ourselves – better than what the US Chamber materials have to offer.

I urge you to end the partnership with the US Chamber, and to recall and recycle all materials printed and distributed in association with it.

Please let me know what you plan to do.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

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