Plastics Industry Edited Environmental Textbooks

According to a CaliforniaWatch report, new environmental curriculum was edited under pressure from the American Chemistry Council -- a lobbying group for the plastics industry. The was one of just 19 districts state-wide using the new curriculum under a roll-out test.

CaliforniaWatch gathered from interviews and documents that the environmental curriculum, which took over seven years to develop, was changed after pressure from lobbyists.

In 2009, a private consultant hired by California school officials added a new section to the 11th-grade teachers’ edition textbook called “The Advantages of Plastic Shopping Bags.” The title and some of the textbook language were inserted almost verbatim from letters written by the chemistry council.

Although the curriculum includes the environmental hazards of plastic bags, the consultant also added a five-point question to a workbook asking students to list some advantages. According to the teachers’ edition, the correct answer is: “Plastic shopping bags are very convenient to use. They take less energy to manufacture than paper bags, cost less to transport, and can be reused.”

The Ross Valley School District is one of 19 districts where the curriculum is being tested and is the only district in Marin using the curriculum, according to the Marin Independent Journal.

However, because the changes to the curriculum were made to the 11th-grade textbook, the students in the Ross Valley will not be affected by the new edits.