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Recent polling by the University of Chicago Energy Policy Institute reveals a troubling trend: Belief in human-induced climate change among young Republicans has jumped from 26% in 2017 to 42% in 2025. This shift signals that our education system is trading facts for fear, replacing critical thinking with emotion-driven propaganda.
American students are not being taught the scientific method; they are being indoctrinated. The Next Generation Science Standards, adopted in 49 states, have weakened the traditional process of observation, hypothesis, experiment, and analysis. In its place, vague “Science & Engineering Practices” promote political agendas, climate alarmism, and “consensus” over empirical evidence.
The National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) reinforces this by urging students to “explore their feelings” about climate change rather than test falsifiable claims. Teachers endorse activism disguised as education, while dissenting scientific perspectives are suppressed—as the CO₂ Coalition experienced when we were expelled from the 2023 NSTA convention for offering evidence-based resources.
This politicization demands a strong response. At the CO₂ Coalition, we are actively countering the propaganda through targeted education initiatives. We created the CO₂ Learning Center with beautifully illustrated books and videos that teach children the truth: CO₂ is the miracle molecule that makes life possible, not a pollutant to fear.
Accompanying our books and videos, comprehensive lesson plans developed by our Senior Education Advisor, Dr. Sharon Camp, that equip parents and teachers with tools for genuine inquiry. We distribute these materials at homeschool conferences, and to private schools, and receptive public schools. If you would like to help provide materials promoting the highest science standards to homeschoolers and schools, please donate here. And please let us know how we can provide materials to schools and homeschool groups in your area.
We are also launching a Scholarship Program to support young scientists committed to rigorous, evidence-based research. These scholars will challenge the climate crisis narrative with data, not dogma. Additionally, we are establishing science clubs in schools and sponsoring debates that welcome open examination of the evidence. Our volunteer Education Committee—composed of credentialed scientists—drives these efforts with one goal: restoring curiosity, rigor, and the scientific method to every student and classroom.
The fight to restore authentic science education is nothing less than the fight for our children’s future. We must move beyond fear-based narratives and manufactured consensus and return instead to evidence, observation, and the disciplined practice of falsifiable science. Working together, we can give the next generation the intellectual tools they need to think critically, question deeply, and pursue truth without apology.
You can learn more about education materials at CO2LearningCenter.com.
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