Gimme That Old Green Religion

You cannot stand up in a classroom and tell kids that Jesus can save them. You can, however, stand up and say that they can save the earth:

Could environmental education be crossing into environmental indoctrination? Some critics say yes, as schools boast that such curricula simply is teaching children ways of caring for the earth.

Being a "good" student at Western Avenue Elementary School in Flossmoor, Ill., means more than just doing reading, writing and arithmetic well. It also means trying to save the planet.

"It's really important to help the earth and save the polar bears," 9-year-old Duree Everett said, as she colored a "go green" sign at her desk.

The students are taking part in what's called "National Green Week," organized by the Green Education Foundation. Schools across the country are encouraged to teach children about recycling, global warming and carbon footprints.

"It's important to start creating habits now, while children are young, because it can add up over a lifetime to make huge monumental consequences to the environment," said Victoria Waters, president of the Green Education Foundation.

Children as young as 5 years old are told to avoid plastic water bottles, carry lunches in reusable containers, to conserve water and reduce their trash, both at school and at home. They're also taught that planet earth is in trouble and animals' lives could be in danger.

While that may seem politically correct to many people, all the talk of "green" is making some people see red. Critics say using public schools as a means to change habits and opinions on things such as ecology and global warming, amounts to environmental religion, because the beliefs of some are being forced on all children. The kids are then pressured to bring that information home and impose it on their families.

Angela Logomasini, from a free-market environmental policy group called the Competitive Enterprise Institute, says it's political indoctrination.

"I think children should not be forced to take one set of values over another," Logomasini said. "This isn't simply about controlling litter, like we had in the '70s. It's more about recycling, living organically — it's a lifestyle choice that is being forced on students whether they like it or not, whether parents like it or not."

I have no problem with programs that teach kids they shouldn't litter and they should be responsible citizens when it comes to the environment. However, when you start telling kids that if they live a certain approved way they can save the earth or failure to do so will kill the polar bears, you've crossed the line from responsible ecology to green religion. Science simply does not back up the wild claims these programs seek to teach our kids. It is becoming a religion for those who have no other god.

It's stuff like this that makes me extra thankful that my youngest will be leaving the public school system this coming June.