Climate change deniers have found their way into textbooks in the Lone Star State.

A sixth grade textbook leaves school children in Texas to debate the question “Is Global Warming a Result of Human Activity?” The only problem is 97 percent of scientists already agree that humans are to blame. So the question becomes highly misleading for the sixth graders that will soon be dealing with the issue head on.

This new textbook has been flagged by the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) for misleading students. The book compares viewpoints from the Heartland Institute, an advocacy group backed by the Koch Brothers and Big Tobacco among others (and well known climate change deniers), to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a Nobel prize winning scientific body. In fact, Heartland Institute famously did an advertisement comparing those that contend global climate change is human-made to psychopaths.

Heartland Institute makes its way into science textbooks:

Scientists who study the issue say it is impossible to tell if the recent small warming trend is natural, a continuation of the planet’s recovery from the more recent “Little Ice Age,” or unnatural, the result of human greenhouse gas emissions. Thousands of peer-­‐reviewed articles point to natural sources of climate variability that could explain some or even all of the warming in the second half of the twentieth century. S. Fred Singer and Dennis Avery documented natural climate cycles of approximately 1,500 years going back hundreds of thousands of years.

—Joseph Bast and James M. Taylor, “Global Warming: Not a Crisis,” The Heartland Institute”

Where are these thousands of peer reviewed articles? I’ve never seen them. A fifth grade textbook had similar concerns. Like this frightening blurb:

Scientists believe the Earth is absorbing more of the sun’s harmful rays….Some scientists say it is natural for the Earth’s temperature to be higher for a few years. They predict we’ll have some cooler years and things will even out.

The Earth’s temperature will even out? It’s natural for the Earth’s temperature to be higher for a few years? In none of the research that I’ve seen has there ever been any mention of the Earth’s temperature evening out. And then there are the embarrassing inaccuracies.

Fossil fuel emissions have also caused a hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica.

Whoops..that’s just wrong. In fact, fossil fuel combustion does not cause holes in the ozone layer, rather, they are caused by CFCs.

This from one of the largest public school systems in the country. Yikes.

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Image: Ed Schipul

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Back in the day, finding an environmentally-aware college was a tough assignment, but these days the amount of universities with green programs and sustainable energy or food policies courses are in the hundreds. Ferreting out 10 of our favorites was tough, but having so many awesome colleges to choose from is a great problem to have.

University of Colorado at Boulder (shown above) – CU-Boulder is just about the greenest university you can imagine. It’s got 27 different degree, major, or certification programs related to environmental studies and cranks out more scientific publications on environmental research than any other institution in the nation. Folsom Field, home of the Colorado Buffaloes football team is a zero-waste stadium and the college’s campus-wide recycling program is run by students. This year, the school partnered with Zipcar to encourage ride-sharing and carpooling to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Unity College – Wow, students from this college in Maine recently had a meeting with White House staffers to discuss putting solar panels on the Presidential abode. The White House didn’t agree to do it, unfortunately, but these kids get an “A” for effort. Meanwhile, back on campus an Environmental Stewardship Curriculum is built into every student’s education so they graduate prepared for “leadership roles in environmental issues, on levels ranging from local to global.”

College of the Atlantic – Here’s one college cafeteria you’ll enjoy eating in. Almost all the beef it serves is grass-fed and the produce comes from local farms or the campus’ own organic farm. Recently-built student housing is powered by renewable energy and all new construction is built with water-and energy-saving details in mind. The school also runs shuttle to ferry students to back and forth to a nearby town and provides bikes for on-campus use.

Middlebury College – This small liberal arts college in Vermont thinks big when it comes to environmental awareness. Local farmers and on-campus gardens supply food to the cafeteria and wind turbines power the school’s recycling facility. An $11-million biomass plant is being built on the campus so the college can be carbon neutral by 2016, but in the meantime students are keeping busy participating in the Green Finger Project, a viral campaign aimed at raising awareness of the disturbing effects of climate change on the planet.

University of Maryland – The administration at this College Park campus puts their money where their mouth is. Students, faculty, and staff with big ideas that promote on-campus environmental sustainability can apply for money to fund their projects and make them a reality. The school schedules regular presentations and film screenings on everything from climate change to reducing energy use, and sponsors 15 different sustainability-related clubs for students to join.

New York University – NYU is well-known for its arts and drama departments, but it’s got one heck of a sustainability program going on, too. It offers grad and undergrad degrees in subjects like urban planning, environmental health, global affairs, and more. Campus projects include a bike-sharing program, sustainability task force (think Green Police), and an environmental health clinic for students and faculty.

Warren Wilson College – This small college in Asheville, NC takes its impact on the environment very seriously. They’ve got their own Climate Action Plan that serves as a roadmap for the school’s vision of the “practice of sustainability.” Students grow food in the Cow Pie garden (um, yum?), power school-owned vehicles and equipment with biodiesel fuel, and live in eco-friendly dorms. They also design and participate in outreach programs that educate elementary school students and participate in the National Audubon Society Seabird Restoration Program.

University of Oregon – Students at this school have a long list of choices when they’re ready to make a positive impact on the environment. For instance, Project Tomato sends incoming freshman on a four-day bike trip to local farms to harvest tomatoes. They bring their haul back to the dining hall and make about 64 gallons of pizza sauce – enough to serve a week’s worth of pies – all the while learning about sustainable agriculture.

Evergreen State College – This cool school gets huge brownie points for creativity thanks to its Sustainable Prisons Project. Paired with the Washing State Department of Corrections, students help figure out ways to reduce the footprint of prisons through environmental awareness and sustainable practices. On campus, you’ll find a salmon-safe certified organic farm, conservation programs, and study halls outfitted with solar panels.

Arizona State University-Tempe – ASU’s renewable energy policies alone are enough to make this school stand out in the crowd. The campus sports six wind turbines and several buildings are already solar panel-equipped, with more to follow in the next few years. Annual recycling drives let students donate old belongings to charity rather than dump them at the curb at the end of the school year, and the Electric Vehicle Club submits a hybrid race car for the yearly Formula Hybrid Competition in Loudon, NH.

Image: Stuart Yeates

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Getting Purelled is the growing phenomenon of sanitizing one’s germ-infested mitts with the alcohol-based, Johnson & Johnson product known as Purell.

What’s in the name, William Safire students might ask?

Pure, I imagine, denotes the opposite of tainted, which in flu terms translates into ralphing, the runs and the unpleasant sensation of having been poisoned by Satan. Elle is French for she, as in, she is cruel that H1N1 Virus, widespread in 47 states now. Elle also is a swank Fifties ad-on, like ette for dinette. It sounds real classy.

I first heard the term the other day after ordering my teenage daughter to wash her hands after school. She’s a nail biter, more susceptible than most.

“I just got purelled,” she explained, exhibiting a jellyfish-like, residue bubble in her palm, which she kept afloat because she was undoubtedly fascinated by its staying power.  She has been studying chemistry in school. And I believe pathogen is one of her SAT terms.

Sydney and her peers happily take advantage of the economy, vat-sized, plastic dispensers of the waterless germ fighter stationed in every nook and cranny of her school, from the bathrooms to the cafeteria, library and gym.

At the campus’s recent Grandparents Day buffet breakfast, I watched an elderly dude mistake the jug O’Purell for carbonated water, carelessly pumping a shot into his cup with a puzzled visage. I gently intervened to set him straight. “You don’t want to drink that, Mister.”

The sanitizer, albeit refreshing upon contact with the skin, is not desirable as a beverage, no matter how much the Dunder Mifflinaholic, Meredith Baxter, of The Office fame ingests it for its alcohol content.

Getting purelled sounds ironically similar to getting paroled. In fact, a link exists when you consider hand purifying might prevent weeks off from school, a form of prison for parents who can’t do squat during the duration of the relatively mild but ubiquitously feared illness. I know as a mom who recently emerged from the trenches with her Swine Flu-infected youngest.

“Mommy, I’m bored! Mommy, stop working, I’m bored! ” I call it Purell hell.

In an aggressive no-tolerance approach, our school armed itself with endless stockpiles of the weapon at the beginning of the year hoping it might slow what it cannot prevent. While the CDC says there are  plenty of the H1N1 vaccines to go around, many parents apparently prefer that surefire killer, Purell.

“I definitely think it has slowed down the spread since contact between these kids is so constant, maybe each child is contacting 20 others throughout the day,”  says Dr. David Abusch-Magder, the head of middle school at Brandeis Hillel Day School in San Francisco.

At least the school, which has an impressive recycling and composting program, is using refillable containers. If you must invest is this much plastic, you might as well maximize its shelf life.

In addition to schools,  I’ve spotted the dispensers just about everywhere these days, from Trader Joe’s checkout counters to business offices, exercise studios and even in the cup holder of my own car.  The truth is there is no place to avoid the risk of contamination. Many organisms continue to thrive in my car despite the Purell.

Another truth is that we are creating a population of Purelled humans immune to the small percentage of bacteria resistant to the liquid. Bacteria that don’t die simply reproduce.

Let’s just hope we can conceive of  a way to upcycle all of those plastic dispensers once we are restored.

This is the latest installment in Luanne’s column, Life in the Green Lane.

Top image: The Local

Image One:Upyernoz

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Al Gore taught us just what high profile people can do to further the green movement. If stars and top models can sell wrinkle cream, they also can sell hybrids, lower fuel emissions and green school initiatives.

Global Green USA is harnessing that star power, hosting its sixth annual Pre-Oscars party at the Avalon in Hollywood. Sheryl Crow and Gavin Rossdale (lead singer from Bush) will perform and heavy hitters like Leonardo DiCaprio, Orlando Bloom, Kate Bosworth, Marisa Tomei and Penelope Cruz will walk the green carpet. It’s all designed to raise funds and awareness about improving the efficiency and conditions of schools in ailing New Orleans and elsewhere.

“This is the launch of our national initiative to raise $3 million in the next five years for on the ground projects and educational awareness,” Matt Petersen told me. Petersen, the president and CEO of Global Green USA, says good light and indoor quality in the classrooms results in fewer missed school days and higher test scores. The Andrew Wilson Elementary School in New Orleans is among the green models of the initiative, as pictured in the rendering below.

In 2004, Global Green launched The Green Schools for Southern California Initiative, partnering with the L.A. Unified School District and other government entities to build more than 34 new schools. The New Orleans effort – which also includes affordable housing (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have been big backers) – targets a new, greener Big Easy that returns students and teachers to vastly healthier learning environment. Petersen figures the schools can save an average of $40 thousand per year by converting to better energy systems.

“Green building and sustainability forces us to take a holistic view and see how everything is connected,” he says. “For too long, a stovepipe mentality has driven an over-specialization with everything.”

Certainly, Hollywood’s film icons are part of the holistic picture. Petersen (second from left in group photo, above) says he has been fortunate to work with motivated, educated and informed people – who just happen to also be big names. Petersen even sends his celeb board members to the Academy Awards in hybrids to really drive home the message. “Whether it’s Leo or Brad or Salma Hayek, they help in the continuation of our efforts to combine real substantive work with shining lights on the solutions,” Petersen explains.

The party tickets range from $125 for general admission to $2500 for the exclusive patron level – swhere I imagine most of the stars will be sipping their green drinks and making Oscar predictions.

(Photo credit: Global Green USA, Leonardo DiCaprio, top; 2007 pre-Oscar party group.)

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