Advocacy group demands textbook revision

The Friends of the Earth is asking the publisher, the Houghton Mifflin Co., to correct statements about global warming in its "American Government" textbook used in high schools nationwide.

The group claims a chapter in book concerning environmental policy is so biased and misleading "it would humble a tobacco industry PR man."

Two of the textbook's statements Friends of the Earth finds objectionable are, "Science doesn't know how bad the greenhouse effect is," and "On the one hand, a warmer globe will cause sea levels to rise, threatening coastal communities; on the other hand, greater warmth will make it easier and cheaper to grow crops and avoid high heating bills."

The group said one of the world's most respected climate scientists, James Hansen, director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, has also demanded revisions.

Hansen said, "Failure to correct the book's errors will leave students gravely misinformed about the facts and science of global warming -- one of the most serious problems that we as a society and a species face."

Copyright 2008 by United Press International