Major Calif. Textbooks Inaccurately Describe Climate Change

Source: TPM

Major textbooks used in California middle schools do not accurately portray climate change or the science behind it, describing it as a debate, not a fact, according to a Stanford University study.

Researchers analyzed four textbooks published almost 10 years ago that are commonly used in sixth grade classes, the first year that California students learn about climate change.

"We found that through language choices, the text portrayed climate change as uncertain along several lines, such as whether climate change was happening, whether humans were causing it and what the effects will be," K.C. Busch, one of the paper's co-authors and doctorate candidate at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, said in a statement about the research.

Busch said that textbooks typically use declarative language, but in sections on climate change, the books used words like "could" and "might."

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