Next week , dozens of teachers from North Dakota , Minnesota , Montana , South Dakota , and Iowa will descend on Bismarck State College in North Dakota for the yearly three - 24-hour interval Lignite Energy Council Teacher ’s Seminar .
There , harmonize to materials posted on the seminar’swebsite , they ’ll see presentation and board discussions on ember ’s account , geology , mining and reclamation , as well as hearing about the “ career opportunities , environmental challenge , transmission and research and development topics . ” The seminar , which has been hold each June since 1986 ( canceled only last yr due to the pandemic ) is run by the Lignite Energy Council , a regional business deal association whose mission statement is to “ protect , assert and raise ontogeny of our region ’s abundant lignite resource”—referring to lignite coal , theleast energy - densetype of ember .
Run at no cost to pedagog , the seminar is part of a larger program to convert teachers and kids that ember is “ vitally important ” and that includes worksheets for kids that identify carbon dioxide as “ full of life to plant lifespan . ” The intact program may also be partially funded by out - of - province ratepayers from utility that blow their renewable energy goals .
Photo: Michael Loccisano (Getty Images)
If you ’re a huge ember devotee , the seminar sound pretty skunk . teacher do n’t have to ante up anything to attend , a nice fringe benefit in an geological era of tight schoolhouse budget . Before the pandemic , the seminar feature tours of “ excavation operations , reclamation sites and coal transition facilities . ” concord to aninformational telecasting , instructor are given a number of detached goodies , include an actual piece of coal as well as ash samples ( wow ! ) and educational materials and moral plans “ to take back to their schoolroom . ” Many of these educational materials are available on theLEC internet site ; among them is an “ Energy and CO2 Management”study guidewith several shoddy fact that paint carbon dioxide as dear , actually , and a terrifying “ Captain Coal”coloring sheet .
In avideoproduced by LEC gear towards untried spectator that kind of makes me want a lobotomy , two kid start casually chatter about the lignite coal manufacture , as all normal elementary schoolhouse kids do . One of them is really into her new coal - theme phone game ; her loth friend ( or perhaps sibling ? ) start asking her head about her new passion .
“ My cousin say that coal creates pollution and wrecks the environment , ” the gloomy fry on the sofa says .
“ That ’s improper , ” his babe hold , add that she “ learned in class ” that emission from coal - base push have fall . “ The business leader plants that burn down ember to make electrical energy work really severely and spend a draw of money to make it a clean fuel . ” ( LEC did not do several of our question as of press fourth dimension , include if any self-governing scientists had reviewed the educational material they pass out to teachers at the seminar . )
Coal ’s ties to schools run deep . Local revenue enhancement on coal minesin North Dakotaand other commonwealth help straight fund schools in the country , and we ’re now go through some calamitous final result as the coal market implodes . In Wyoming , a K-12 instruction arrangement that trust to a great extent on taxes from coal production isfacing serious budget cutsas demand for ember drops and mines close .
The LEC teacher seminar offers another in for ember to determine what go on in public school classrooms . accord to LEC documents , teacher attending the seminar are eligible to win a $ 1,000 grant for their school ; a late winner used the money to startle up a LEGO robotics program . The course also enumerate as a continuing education citation , which aid keep teachers in skilful standing . It ’s hard to fault cash - lather public shoal teacher in coal - pendant regions for participate .
But the instructor seminar could imbibe funds from alfresco of North Dakota , including from customer in states with more belligerent emanation decrease goals . fit in to LEC’s2019 annual report , well-nigh $ 2 million of its $ 4 million budget comes from member due ; several regional utility are members of the LEC . At least one of these public utility company used ratepayer funds to give its LEC dues : Otter Tail Power , which , in its latest rate face , quest one C of thousands of dollar from its customers for membership dues in specific advocacy system , including LEC .
Otter Tail serves132,500 customersin Minnesota and North and South Dakota andproudly toutsits renewable zip resource on its internet site . In an email , a interpreter told Earther that the $ 47,545 it was requesting ratepayer to pony up for an LEC membership was separated out from dues the utility pays that fund the organisation ’s lobbying efforts , and that the LEC does a mickle to endure research into “ emissions - reductions technologies . ” The spokesperson did not respond to further questions about whether LEC also separates out its educational programs in its emails , or whether Otter Tail would split up ratepayer money from due for LEC ’s educational programs move forth .
While “ educational ” programme like the teacher seminars may not technically be buttonhole , in documents , LEC does n’t even strain to disguise that it ’s feeding pro - coal propaganda to kids in purchase order to save a dying manufacture . In agrant proposalsubmitted by LEC last fall for an teaching programme , of which the seminar is a part , the group asked the state of North Dakota to foot the bill for $ 200,000 of what it articulate is a $ 400,000 yearly effort to boost coal to teachers and kids . Here ’s how the proposal put it :
“ Education about the regional lignite industry is all important in nurture a positive or golden view of the industriousness which also aids in favorable regulatory , job and career climates for the Industry . Access to educational chance and easy - consumable industry data is crucial in furthering awareness about the diligence , especially with younger generations . ”
Deliverables listed admit the goal to educate teacher and students likewise about the “ energy , economics and the environmental impacts of the regional lignite industriousness . ” It also defined success as the “ target area audience ” reach “ agreement that ember is vitally important to our realm ’s power supply . ”
plow the climate crisis will essentially require removing ember from the energy organisation . A2018 landmark reportfound coal role would have to degenerate 97 % globally to have a unclouded shot at keeping the planet from heat up more than 1.5 degrees Celsius ( 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit ) . Beyond having a habitable planet , there ’s also a ripe economic controversy to ditch coal . Researchshowstearing down three - quarters of ember plant in the U.S. today and replacing them with renewables would result in tacky electricity .
The fossil fuel industry — and coal in particular — is in decline . The detached teacher seminar and propaganda for kids pushed by LEC as well asother groupsandutilitiesare an attempt to keep obsolesce at bay a bit longer . But squeeze ratepayers to give for brainwashing kids about a dying manufacture can only wor for so long .
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