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I should start this post by saying that it doesn’t relate to cooking or eating. But it does relate to kids and recycling. And for those of you who are familiar with What’s Cooking, you know that I recently received my Green Business Certification and that I sell lots of Waste-Free Lunch items for kids. Now, I’ll go on…

I am a recycling nut, so it was no surprise that I was thrilled when I was asked to be part of a new recycling committee at our elementary school. Parents around campus can often be heard discussing the copious amounts of paper that our school uses (translate - “wastes”) and the recyclables that end up in the trash. Our team was getting ready to set up an action plan of our own, when our lead parent learned about Cancel A Car. The program educates students about global warming and inspires them and their families to take energy saving actions. They teach that when people save energy and resources at school and at home, it’s just like taking a car off the road!

Cancel A Car has a fantastic program in place that helps our students learn about what they can do to combat global warming. They provide a school-wide assembly, along with teaching materials and student activities. Their Coupon Books provide families with action items that contain simple energy-saving tips and their respective carbon savings. Each student takes a booklet home and returns the coupons after taking specific actions.

With the support from our principal, we agreed to join the other 24 schools in our county who use this program. After the parents had cleared from the room, I was shocked to learn that one of the parents in the room is opposed to the program and the “propaganda” that it teaches! She sent out an e-mail calling herself “an inconvenient parent” and one who does not believe that Global Warming exists. I was truly appalled to learn that she likened it to the propaganda used by the Nazis.

I just received a copy of the e-mail that this woman sent in opposition to today’s speaker. She was concerned that her son would hear this information and “drink the koolaid”:

I know this makes me an Inconvenient Parent, but I don’t “tow the line” on this global warming trend. I have done a lot of reading on this issue from top scientists who say that our planet is indeed warming, but who write that the evidence of it being caused by human activity is still highly controvertible.

In fact, astronomers have determined in the past 3 years that the planets Jupiter, Mars, Pluto, and the Neptune moon Triton are also experiencing hurricane-like storms and temperature increases of up to 10 degrees. There are no cars being driven on these planets, or fields full of methane-causing cows either.

It is quite an effort for me to counter-balance what comes into my child’s brain through the Scholastic reader on this topic, since global warming is a bit like a religion…. it is simply “believed” by most people without much research or critical thinking.

I do teach my kids to reduce, re-use, recycle, and to be responsible for our actions. Being responsible is far different from a paradigm which is basically, “We are headed for planetary ruin unless we change our very way of life, with the US paving as well as paying the way.”

Therefore, whilst I love (our school) and the PTA, I can’t in good conscience tout a speaker like the one coming in on Dec. 11th. And, I would not want to incorporate this cancel-a-car program into our school on top the massive global warming media already being tsunamied upon our young, impressionable children.

In another e-mail to her son’s teacher, she says, ” I hope you are not offended that this is our family’s pride: Critical thinking and the courage to go against the tide if we feel we are intellectually and ethically sound.” and lists the following websites as resources:

Global Warming: A Convenient Lie. Read the article at http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=20070315&articleId=5086

http://www.abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=3061015

http://www.junkscience.com/news/robinson.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientists_opposing_the_mainstream_scientific_assessment

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I can’t help but thinking about the Scopes Monkey Trial…

I am appalled. Fine. She doesn’t believe in Global Warming. But it sure is hard to deny how wasteful it is to cut down more trees than necessary to make paper, to throw away plastic bottles made from non-renewable resources or to buy cars that use more gasoline and oil than necessary! I can’t wait to support this program, no matter what the repercussions. And I will certainly keep promoting our products that encourage families to reduce, reuse and recycle!