[Vanity] - Help Needed re Global Warming Being Taught to My 10-Year Old In Scool

vanity | 9/12/2011 | grady

[grady]

Returning from ball practice tonight, my 5th grader informed me that today, in science class, he learned that carbon dioxide is causing global warming, melting glaciers, etc., etc. My initial reaction was to say "that's a bunch of baloney" but I contained myself. I'm not surprised that they're teaching it, and I'm ok with him hearing about it (it's everywhere nowadays anyway), provided he learns to take in the information with a critical mindset and challenge it. He'll learn more that way anyway.

We discussed the difference between theories and facts, as well as the importance of using the scientific method to get from the former to the latter. I don't want him to simply walk into class and tell the teacher that his dad thinks she's teaching nonsense. Instead, I'd like him to be prepared to challenge the the validity of her lesson by simply asking questions that she'll be unable to answer.

Perhaps he can ask: Does ALL scientists believe that CO2 causes global warming? If not, what do the other scientists think? How do we know global warming is caused by CO2 and not something else? What might prove it's not happening (i.e. current cooling) and has anything like that happened that you know of? Can you explain how the scientific method was applied and supports the theory? Was the earth always the same temperature or has climate always varied?

I don't believe the teacher will be prepared to do anything other than read out of the book. Therefore, I think that if he asks the right questions, and sees that the teacher is unprepared to answer, he might draw his own conclusions as to whether he should believe the hype.

He's a smart kid who's not afraid to respectfully raise such a challenge to a teacher. So, fellow Freepers, this is where I could use your help. How many of you have addressed this before and what suggestions do you have to help my kid put a critical spotlight on this lesson plan? Are there any resources out there I might rely on?

[fhayek]

CO2 comprises .0392% of the atmosphere. (No, that is not a misprint, it is not 3.92%, it is .0392%). Man maybe contributes 3% of that amount. IF we could cut our CO2 output by 10% (which would be a Global Warming Alarmist wet dream) we are talking about .0001176% of the atmosphere here. A trace of a trace gas is going to make the difference in global warming? Sure.

Water vapor is also a greenhouse gas. The amount of water vapor varies significantly, from just a trace in the arid areas, to about 4% in humid areas. There is about 50 times as much water vapor in the atmosphere. The thing is, they haven't figure out how to tax water vapor.

[wintertime]

If this is a government school, remove him tomorrow.

If this a private school, do the same.

[PieterCasparzen]

IMHO, you’re rapidly approaching the point where children typically develop big problems. Middle school and high school, in my personal experience, are utterly terrible - very, very bad problems can develop, even in the best of children.

IMHO, start researching bigtime in preparation and homeschool asap.

I haven’t used this personally, but it looks very good and is recommended by a great pastor.

It is largely self-study FWIU as long as someone is there to supervise and has basic educational discipline themselves. The children of the developer of it apparently went on to do very well.

http://www.robinsoncurriculum.com/

[bboop]

We breathe out CO2. How could it be evil?

[grady]

We breathe out CO2. How could it be evil?

Used this one during our discussion. I tend to rely on the Socratic method:

So...CO2 causes global warming?

Yeah. That's what we learned.

Ok, what do we exhale when we breathe?

CO2.

And what happens to that CO2?

Plants use it to live!

So...????

More plants will use the CO2 to grow?

Ding Ding!

If there are too many plants using all the CO2, won't everything get colder?

Ask your teacher!!!!

[Fledermaus]

I’d confront his teacher and the principal and superintendent and tell them to quit lying to your child.

[warsaw44]

Almost forgot. Have your son google ‘ The Little Ice Age ‘ - wasn't too long ago and how the heck did it pass without all the evil SUVs?

[grady]

I’d confront his teacher and the principal and superintendent and tell them to quit lying to your child.

Gave that some serious consideration. Other things have come up in the past that have made me think of doing the same. Overall though, the school and teachers seem to do a pretty good job of sticking to reading, 'riting, and 'rithmatic. We're out in the sticks, and the school is generally not tied into the PC agenda. They didn't play the Obama indoctrination broadcast, my son has written book reports that have included references to, and images of, knives and guns, and he's written journal entries about shooting with dad on the weekends.

Overall, we're doing ok, but I think the fed curriculum requirements under NCLB might be fueling this. If that's the case, I just want to give the kid all the information he needs to question the lesson and force them to support its validity. If they can't do it, then my son has learned something he otherwise would not have if he hadn't faced that situation, and he comes out stronger and better prepared to confront the lies in the real world.

My point with this post wasn't to shut the school up...I wanted to use the flawed lesson to teach the boy how to critically assess the information that comes his way and learn how to break the false argument. He'll be better off learning how to do that than he would have been if he never heard the false premise to begin with.

[jessduntno]

“D’oh again! And in a post about properly edumacating my kid! Dang.”

Oh Gawd, you aren’t a FReeper til you done one o these!

[Freddd]

I told my 11 year old granddaughter, just this weekend, that all she hears and reads and is being taught in school is NOT correct.

Global warming or climate change or what ever it is being called is one of those things.

I told her, the earth is said to have been here for millions of years, it’s still here, sustaining human life. Yes, we should take care of the land, but global warming isn’t something she need be concerned about.

I also told her two women don’t marry. And two men don’t marry. Oh they may say they do.

But it ain’t natural.

[jimfree]

50 years ago the vast majority of physicians agreed (according to the DSM IV - Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) declared that homosexuality was a mental disorder.

And don't forget the ad from that years ago: "Three out of four doctors recommend Luckies."

[willyd]

Take a glass. Add some water (the ocean). Fill the rest up with Ice (glaciers).

Mark the water level. (today’s levels)

Microwave for 3 minutes (globull warming)

Check the water level...does it go up or down?

Where is the danger?

[Semper Mark]

"Thanks in advance for any help."

Take your 10 year old out of Public School and place him in a Private School of your choice. Work 3 jobs if you have to, but do it.

[taxcontrol]

Hey, lighten up man ... it’s science class, not Engrish

/sarc

[ForGod'sSake]

A visual for a 10 year old will help it "stick". Grab a world map or globe and sit down with him a do this quick demo(but NOT before double checking my math):

How much area would it take if you gathered the population of the world of ~6,800,000,000 people, brought 'em all together in one place and gave 'em each a square yard, or nine square feet?

6,800,000,000 X 9 = ~61,000,000,000 sq ft.

61,000,000,000 / 43,550(sq ft per acre) = ~1,400,000 acres

1,400,000 / 640(acres per sq mi.) = ~2,200 square miles.

The total area of the state of Delaware is roughly 2,500 square miles. In other words, you could put the entire world's population into the state of Delaware with a little room to spare; maybe for Porta-Potties!

The total area of the earth is ~197,000,000 sq miles; total land area ~57,000,000 sq miles.

2,500 / 197,000,000 = ~.00001 or 1/1000 of 1% of the area of the earth's surface.

2,500 / 57,000,000 = ~.00004 or roughly 4/1000 of 1% of the land area.

And algore wants us to believe we puny humans can have ANY effect on the world's climate? FEH!

Not exactly like ants because we wouldn't be stacked on top of each other. Factor in some high density housing etc and you could ALMOST believe there would actually be enough room to pull it off. ;^)

[ForGod'sSake]

I meant to preface my post with a note that I had recently run in to the identical situation with a grandson about the same age. After going through the steps with him he thought a while and asked, “Why would they be teaching this if it’s not true?” I told him he probably wouldn’t understand the explanation but asked him if I had ever lied to him. “No.” I asked him who he would trust more with his life, his grandpa or his teacher. THAT more or less settled it, FWIW...

[Yosemitest]

Always start first with Rush at

ClimateGate Hoax: The Universe of Lies Versus the Universe of Reality, November 24, 2009

Then follow up with his links at the bottom of his article.

[Yosemitest]

This might help.

Rachael Carson's Silent Spring advice actually killed millions of birds?  Trees cause more "air pollution" than cars?  In Eco-Freaks, John Berlau shatters long-standing environmental myths with startling facts, and exposes the many ways that shortsighted environmentalism -- often based on pseudo-science or outright falsehoods -- has actually helped amplify the dangers of natural disasters, and destroyed the health, lives and property of millions of people.

A self-described conservationist, Berlau believes in wise stewardship in harvesting and conserving natural resources and in good management of the beauty of the landscape. In contast, he says, the environmental movement of today is preservationist -- obsessed with preserving and restoring a landscape unaltered by humans that may never have existed. Operating on the false premise that untrammeled nature is always benign, their single-minded focus on the health of the "environment," the "planet", or the "ecosystem" obscures and often worsens specific threats to humans, animal, and plants. And many times, Berlau shows, environmentalist prescriptions have been in direct conflict with public health. Berlau urges policymakers to abandon such destructive policies and embrace a practical conservation ethic, one that would better protect public health and wildlife.

In chapter after chapter, Berlau debunks myths and libels about global warming and climate change ... the dangers of pesticides like DDT ... trees and pollution ... fuel economy and the auto industry ... the threat posed by asbestos ... the lifesaving role of dams and levees ... plans to "rewild" America. Mother Nature, he shows, is not a gentle person, and Berlau's pointed reporting reveals the very real dangers to people and their environments when Eco-Freaks prevent us from restraining her.

Some topics and key themes:

The primary cause of the resurgence of malaria? Not global warming, as evironmentalists claim - but the banning of DDT, which was demonized by Rachel Carson's Silent Spring yet remains the most effective insecticide for use to control malaria-carrying mosquitoes

How DDT has never been proven to cause disease in humans or to be a danger to animals in normal amounts

Why, after DDT was banned, the U.S. population of elm trees fell by more than half - and how it saved Oregon's "old-growth" Douglas fir trees, home for the celebrated spotted owl, from devastation by tussock moths in 1974

How thousands of deaths that occurred in the late 1800's and early 1900's from fires in public buildings -- including schools -- were largely halted due to the amazing capability of asbestos to protect against fire

How well millions of today's schoolchildren and adults are put at risk because environmentalists - based on the findings of a fake doctor - have forced asbestos out of the marketplace

Solid evidence that, had asbestos been used, the World Trade Center towers might not have collapsed or at least would have stood longer, preventing thousands of deaths

How bans on cutting down most "old-growth" (mature) trees has led to thousands of deer dying in collisions with automobiles

How environmentalists contributed to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina by blocking the federal government's plans to build giant floodgates on Lake Pontchartrain

Why "nature" is not the benign force environmentalists would have us believe - and how centuries of technological advances were aimed specifically at protect humanity from its inherent dangers


"Berlau makes a powerful case. . . . Thinking environmentalists who read this book will be forced to revisit at least some of their most deeply held beliefs." -Joel Himelfarb, Washington Times

"Berlau says a lot of things that are not generally known that needed to be said." -Bruce N. Ames, recipient, National Medal of Science, 1998

[RoadTest]

Home school! Home school!

Impart your values to your children, not those of Karl Marx.

[Apogee]

Hello,
While on the subject, here is a great book that deals with the trend in general, and is easily accessible to school aged children.

http://www.amazon.com/Five-Lies-Century-David-Moore/dp/0842318690/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315919078&sr=8-1

Not MGW, but similarity of argument.

Book Description
Publication Date: September 27, 1995
Exposes five lies generated by secular society concerning the founding of our nation, the structure of the family, evolution, sexuality, and entertainment.