Coal industry criticized for school-focused efforts

August 03, 2011

A recent public radio report called attention to the working relationship between school material publisher Scholastic Inc. and the American Coal Foundation, leading Scholastic to publicly back away from that partnership.

According to the report, the American Coal Foundation paid Scholastic to help it develop and promote pro-coal educational materials under the “United States of Energy” name, using background material from the National Mining Association. The Foundation’s blog reportedly praised the effort, noting that “Four out of five parents know and trust the Scholastic brand.”

Critics claimed that the materials were one-sided, promoting the benefits of coal as a fuel without addressing environmental issues. After news of the relationship aired, Scholastic responded with a formal statement: “We acknowledge that the mere fact of sponsorship may call into question the authenticity of the information, and therefore conclude that we were not vigilant enough as to the effect of sponsorship in this instance. We have no plans to further distribute this particular program.”

The report also explored materials distributed throughout the Appalachian coal-mining region as part of a mining industry effort called Coal Education Development and Resources, or CEDAR. The materials included a 1991 video that stated, “… as more and more scientists are confirming, our world is deficient in carbon dioxide and a doubling of atmospheric CO2 is very beneficial.” Kentucky’s state government has provided some of the funding for CEDAR.

CEDAR’s Eastern Kentucky program director John Justice explained that all of the media’s coverage about coal has been negative. “We wanted to give students and teachers an opportunity to look at the other side,” he said.