{"id":28374,"date":"2017-06-15T06:00:16","date_gmt":"2017-06-15T11:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=28374"},"modified":"2019-01-04T12:32:40","modified_gmt":"2019-01-04T18:32:40","slug":"oils-pipeline-to-americas-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2017\/06\/15\/oils-pipeline-to-americas-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Oil\u2019s Pipeline to America\u2019s Schools"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_28386\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28386\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/Classroom_V2_WEB.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration by Eben McCue\" width=\"620\" height=\"416\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/Classroom_V2_WEB.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/Classroom_V2_WEB-500x335.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/Classroom_V2_WEB-150x101.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/Classroom_V2_WEB-300x201.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Illustration by Eben McCue<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div><p>Jennifer Merritt\u2019s first-graders at Jefferson Elementary School in Pryor, Oklahoma, were in for a treat. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, the students gathered in late November for story time with two special guests, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.okhouse.gov\/District.aspx?District=8\">state Rep. Tom Gann<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.oksenate.gov\/Senators\/biographies\/quinn_bio.aspx\">state Sen. Marty Quinn<\/a>.<\/p><p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/328116187%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-ipFw4&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=false\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p><p><!--more--><\/p><p>Dressed in suits, the Republican lawmakers read aloud from \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/oerbhomeroom.com\/ebooks\/\">Petro Pete\u2019s Big Bad Dream<\/a>,\u201d a parable in which a Bob the Builder lookalike awakens to find his toothbrush, hardhat and even the tires on his bike missing. Abandoned by the school bus, Pete walks to Petroville Elementary in his pajamas.<\/p><p>[module align=&#8221;right&#8221; width=&#8221;half&#8221; type=&#8221;aside&#8221;]This story is\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apps.publicintegrity.org\/oil-education\/\">a collaboration<\/a>\u00a0with The Center for Public Integrity.\u00a0Versions of this story also appear in The Guardian US and The Hechinger Report.[\/module]<\/p><p>\u201cIt sounds like you are missing all of your petroleum by-products today!\u201d his teacher, Mrs. Rigwell, exclaims, extolling oil\u2019s benefits to Pete and fellow students like Sammy Shale. Before long, Pete decides that \u201chaving no petroleum is like a nightmare!\u201d<\/p><p>The tale is the latest in an illustrated series by the<a href=\"http:\/\/www.oerb.com\/\"> Oklahoma Energy Resources Board<\/a>, a state agency funded by oil and gas producers. The board has spent upwards of $40 million over the past two decades on K-12 education with a pro-industry bent, including hundreds of pages of curricula, a speaker series and an afterschool program \u2014 all at no cost to educators.<\/p><p>A similar <a href=\"http:\/\/oogeep.org\/\">program in Ohio<\/a> shows teachers how to \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=O8hTBSC2Z1E\">frack\u201d Twinkies<\/a> using straws to pump for cream and advises on the curriculum for <a href=\"http:\/\/www.uticashaleschool.com\/\">a charter school<\/a> that revolves around shale drilling. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.need.org\/\">A national program<\/a> whose sponsors include BP and Shell claims it\u2019s too soon to tell if the earth is heating up, but \u201ca little warming might be a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_28388\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-28388\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/classvisitcropped-620x489.jpg\" alt=\"State Rep. Tom Gann and State Sen. Marty Quinn read aloud to first graders at Jefferson Elementary School in Pryor, Oklahoma. \" width=\"620\" height=\"489\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/classvisitcropped-620x489.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/classvisitcropped-500x394.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/classvisitcropped-150x118.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/classvisitcropped-300x237.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/classvisitcropped.jpg 720w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Oklahoma Energy Resources Board<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">State Rep. Tom Gann and State Sen. Marty Quinn read aloud to first graders at Jefferson Elementary School in Pryor, Oklahoma.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>Decades of documents reviewed by the Center for Public Integrity reveal a tightly woven network of organizations that works in concert with the oil and gas industry to paint a rosy picture of fossil fuels in America\u2019s classrooms.<b> <\/b>Led by advertising and public-relations strategists, the groups have long plied the tools of their trade on impressionable children and teachers desperate for resources.<\/p><p>Proponents of programs like the one in Oklahoma say they help the oil and gas industry replenish its aging workforce by stirring early interest in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM. But some experts question the educational value and ethics of lessons touting an industry that plays a central role in climate change and air pollution.<\/p><p><a href=\"http:\/\/environment.yale.edu\/profile\/leiserowitz\/\">Anthony Leiserowitz<\/a>, director of the <a href=\"http:\/\/climatecommunication.yale.edu\/\">Yale Program on Climate Change Communication<\/a>, likened industry-sponsored curricula that ignore climate science to advertising. \u201cYou\u2019re exploiting that trusted relationship between the student and the teacher,\u201d he said. Leiserowitz \u2014 whose research has focused on how culture, politics and psychology impact public perception of the environment \u2014 said fossil-fuel companies have a stake in perpetuating a message of oil dependency.<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-large wp-image-28385\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/pete-sammy-620x466.jpg\" alt=\"Petro Pete and his friend, Sammy Shale.\" width=\"620\" height=\"466\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/pete-sammy-620x466.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/pete-sammy-500x376.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/pete-sammy-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/pete-sammy-300x226.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/pete-sammy-632x474.jpg 632w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/pete-sammy-536x402.jpg 536w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/pete-sammy.jpg 898w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p><p>As early as the 1940s, the industry\u2019s largest and most powerful lobby group targeted K-12 schools as a key element of its fledgling marketing strategy. By the 1960s, the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.api.org\/\">American Petroleum Institute<\/a> was looking to shake its reputation as a \u201cmonopoly which reaped excessive profits\u201d and\u00a0set out to cultivate a network of \u201cthought leaders\u201d that included educators, journalists, politicians and even clergy, according to an organizational history copyrighted by API in 1990.<\/p><p>The idea caught on. Hundreds of oil-and-gas-centric lesson plans are now available at the click of a mouse. The programs occupy a gray area between corporate sponsorship and promotion\u00a0 at a time when climate science has increasingly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/03\/27\/us\/politics\/climate-change-denialists-in-charge.html?_r=0\">come under siege at the highest levels<\/a> of government. On June 1, President Donald Trump, flanked by\u00a0 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator \u2013 and former Oklahoma attorney general \u2013 Scott Pruitt, announced that the United States would <a href=\"http:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2017\/06\/02\/scott-pruitt-donald-trump-paris-climate-change-agreement-239086\">withdraw from the Paris climate agreement<\/a>.<\/p><p>\u201cTeachers are taking their cues from the political situation around them,\u201d said Glenn Branch of the <a href=\"https:\/\/ncse.com\/\">National Center for Science Education<\/a>, a nonprofit that advocates for climate-change and evolution education. He pointed to <a href=\"https:\/\/ncse.com\/climate\/first-nationwide-survey-climate-change-education\">a survey<\/a> that found teachers in Republican counties and states are less likely to teach the scientific consensus on global warming \u2014 regardless of the educator\u2019s politics. \u201cTeachers live in local communities, they\u2019re sensitive to the needs and desires of the people paying their paychecks.\u201d<\/p><p>Branch\u2019s group supports wide-scale adoption of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nextgenscience.org\/\">Next Generation Science Standards<\/a>, a joint effort by states and educational organizations to revamp K-12 science that has met with political <a href=\"http:\/\/www.eenews.net\/stories\/1060036453\">backlash<\/a> since the standards were published in 2013. Oklahoma is among a dozen states that have opted for watered-down versions, sometimes omitting provisions on evolution and the anthropogenic causes of global warming. Along with Colorado, Kansas and Montana, Oklahoma legislators have also championed bills\u00a0 requiring that educators teach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/282542919_A_critical_political_ecology_of_consensus_On_Teaching_Both_Sides_of_climate_change_controversies?ev=prf_high\">\u201cboth sides\u201d<\/a> of those scientific concepts.<\/p><p>A <a href=\"http:\/\/science.sciencemag.org\/content\/351\/6274\/664\">2016 study<\/a> confirmed that America\u2019s youth receive mixed messages on climate change. Nearly a third of middle- and high-school science teachers nationwide have wrongly suggested global warming is naturally occurring. A quarter have spent as much time rebutting evidence of warming as they have presenting it.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_28381\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28381\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/20170408-oerb-workshop009_WEB.jpg\" alt=\"Teachers gathered at Choctaw High School for a workshop in April by the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board. Joe Wertz of StateImpact Oklahoma.\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/20170408-oerb-workshop009_WEB.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/20170408-oerb-workshop009_WEB-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/20170408-oerb-workshop009_WEB-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/20170408-oerb-workshop009_WEB-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Joe Wertz \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teachers gathered at Choctaw High School for a workshop in April by the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board. Joe Wertz of StateImpact Oklahoma.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Freddie Fuelless and Oliver Oilpatch<\/h3><p>Schools and libraries across Oklahoma have received more than 9,000 complimentary copies of \u201cPetro Pete\u2019s Big Bad Dream\u201d since it was published last year. The story has been a hit with Jennifer Merritt\u2019s students, who <a href=\"http:\/\/oerbhomeroom.com\/uploads\/Contest%20Entry.pdf\">won the storytelling visit<\/a> from lawmakers after submitting a photo to the energy resources board via Facebook. Posing on a jungle gym, the students clutched stuffed animals and footballs \u2014 their \u201cfavorite petroleum by-products.\u201d<\/p><p>\u201cIt\u2019s not some boring thing,\u201d Merritt said of the board\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/oerbhomeroom.com\/curricula\/little-bits\">\u201cLittle Bits\u201d<\/a> curriculum for kindergarten through second grade, which features alliterative characters like Freddie Fuelless and Oliver Oilpatch. Without it, she said, \u201cI probably wouldn\u2019t have taught first graders about energy.\u201d<\/p><p>Merritt is among 14,000 Oklahoma teachers who have attended workshops on how to use what the board calls its \u201cinnovative, one-of-a-kind science and energy curriculum in their classrooms.\u201d Participants are reimbursed for supplies year-round and can register their classes for free museum field trips \u2014 so long as the exhibits <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3532953-2012-05-OERB-Board-Minutes.html#document\/p2\/a346360\">highlight petroleum<\/a>.<\/p><p>On a recent Saturday, a workshop was in session at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnpschools.org\/ChoctawHS\/CHS.html\">Choctaw High School<\/a>, east of Oklahoma City. The parking lot was bustling as teachers loaded their cars with heavy tubs, each stuffed with up to $1,200 worth of calculators, lab equipment and other materials. In classrooms, some teachers plotted oil-production trends while others watched bubbling brews simulating how the industry wrings oil from depleting fields.<\/p><p>In an email, board <a href=\"http:\/\/www.oerb.com\/about\/board\/18\/danny-morgan\">Chairman Danny Morgan<\/a> wrote that the organization doesn\u2019t use public funds and \u201cdoes not function like a typical agency.\u201d Under state law, half of its revenues from oil and gas producers are spent restoring abandoned oil wells. Morgan pointed to a board <a href=\"http:\/\/oerbhomeroom.com\/well-site-safety\/overview\">safety campaign<\/a> aimed at preventing children from playing on dangerous pumpjacks that dot the state, writing, \u201cif just one child is kept safe through the awareness this program created, it is well worth the effort.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_28382\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28382\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/20170408-oerb-workshop067_WEB.jpg\" alt=\"During the workshop, Oklahoma educators learned about oil production and other aspects of the petroleum industry.\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/20170408-oerb-workshop067_WEB.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/20170408-oerb-workshop067_WEB-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/20170408-oerb-workshop067_WEB-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/20170408-oerb-workshop067_WEB-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Joe Wertz \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">During the workshop, Oklahoma educators learned about oil production and other aspects of the petroleum industry.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>While the board\u2019s curriculum enlightens students about the benefits of \u201cblack gold,\u201d their teachers are\u00a0 hard-pressed to find any information on climate change or other drawbacks of fossil fuels \u2014 even as Oklahoma struggles to curb <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2017-03-01\/oil-rich-oklahoma-still-at-highest-risk-of-man-made-earthquakes\">a slew of man-made earthquakes<\/a> tied to its fracking boom. Morgan, an oil company executive and a former state legislator, declined to say why the board\u2019s materials fail to address global warming.<\/p><p>Cheerleading for the industry has been central to the energy resources board\u2019s mission from the start. Lawmakers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oerb.com\/uploads\/oerb-statute.pdf\">created the board in 1993<\/a> as a \u201cprivatized\u201d state agency funded by a voluntary tax on local oil and gas producers to publicize the industry. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kansasstrong.com\/\">Kansas<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/iprb.org\/mission.html\">Illinois<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/oogeep.org\/\">Ohio<\/a>followed suit with similar legislation.<\/p><p>But Oklahoma remains the epicenter of oil-industry puffery in the classroom. The board\u2019s\u00a0 curricula are used in an estimated <a href=\"http:\/\/newsok.com\/article\/5510871\">98 percent<\/a> of Oklahoma school districts and have been adopted in neighboring <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kansasstrong.com\/educators\/curricula-tools\">Kansas<\/a>. Records show that Oklahoma\u2019s energy resources board has pitched its programs and pro-industry ads to trade groups and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3532806-2011-09-OERB-Board-Minutes.html#document\/p1\/a346371\">legislators<\/a> in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3532798-2011-01-OERB-Board-Minutes.html#document\/p3\/a346313\">Montana, Arkansas, North Dakota, Wyoming<\/a> and Texas. Similar petroleum boards in Kansas, Illinois and Ohio declined to fulfill records requests filed by the Center.<\/p><p>Oklahoma\u2019s board appears to have taken cues from the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.api.org\/about\">American Petroleum Institute<\/a> \u2014 the country\u2019s leading oil and gas lobby group, representing more than 625 companies. The plot of \u201cBig Bad Dream\u201d bears uncanny similarities to API\u2019s 1996 educational film, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20150811035415\/http:\/www.classroom-energy.org\/oil_natural_gas\/fuel_less\/index.html\">Fuel-less: you can\u2019t be cool without fuel<\/a>.\u201d Records show that the board\u2019s education director, who wrote \u201cBig Bad Dream,\u201d has ordered hundreds of copies of \u201cFuel-less\u201d to distribute locally \u2014 most recently in 2013.<\/p><p>API\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.api.org\/about\/linda-rozett\">vice president of communications<\/a> delivered a special presentation to the board in 2012 on marketing strategies. The same year, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/rolf-hanson-b4160416\/\">API lobbyist<\/a> asked the board to host a fracking workshop on its behalf as part of the trade group\u2019s effort to reach out to legislators, regulators and other stakeholders nationwide. Morgan wrote that\u00a0 the board did not participate in the workshop because API \u201cnever followed up on the request.\u201d He added that the board itself doesn\u2019t engage in lobbying.<\/p><p>Copied on API\u2019s communications with the board was <a href=\"http:\/\/www.devonenergy.com\/news\/2008\/Devon-Energy-Names-William-F-Whitsitt-Senior-Vice-President-Public-Affairs\">Bill Whitsitt<\/a>, a\u00a0 Devon Energy executive who helped draft letters for then-state attorney general Pruitt. In 2014, <i>The New York Times<\/i> reported on Pruitt\u2019s extensive industry ties \u2014 which included oil and gas companies, utilities and lobby groups.<\/p><p>Where the board draws the line between industry promotion and youth education is unclear. While it spent $3.5 million for K-12 efforts in 2016, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3519040-OERB-Board-Minutes-2016-05.html\">roughly the same amount<\/a> went to messaging it calls \u201cpublic education.\u201d Its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3536283-Brothers-Contract-FY-2012-2016.html\">contract<\/a> with Oklahoma-based <a href=\"https:\/\/www.broco.com\">Brothers & Company<\/a> \u2014 which creates its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/oerb07\">pro-industry commercials<\/a> and some K-12 materials \u2014 forbids the advertising firm to perform work\u00a0 for other clients that \u201cportrays the oil and natural gas exploration and production industry in an unfavorable light.\u201d Brothers & Company counts among its clients <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kansasstrong.com\/\">Kansas Strong<\/a>, an oil and gas marketing group similar to Oklahoma\u2019s; apparel company Under Armour; and handgun maker Remington.<\/p><p>Last spring, Brothers & Company rolled out an ad <a href=\"http:\/\/www.oerb.com\/industry\/impact\/energy-to-amaze\">campaign<\/a> highlighting petroleum\u2019s benefits and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3519040-OERB-Board-Minutes-2016-05.html#document\/p5\/a346370\">based<\/a> on Alex Epstein\u2019s \u201cThe Moral Case for Fossil Fuels.\u201d Epstein is a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.eenews.net\/stories\/1060035542\">libertarian writer <\/a>whose work is popular with climate-change deniers and who falsely claims that rising carbon dioxide levels have yielded only <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/opinion\/2016\/10\/19\/climate-change-presidential-debate-fossil-fuels-editorials-debates\/92386846\/\">\u201cmild and manageable\u201d warming<\/a>.<\/p><p>A Brothers & Company official wrote in an email that the firm\u2019s work for the energy resources board helps \u201ccitizens better understand domestic oil and natural gas production.\u201d<\/p><p>The firm also developed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wRdK0gPJIRc\">videos<\/a> on Oklahoma\u2019s \u201cseismicity issue\u201d after the state was rattled by more than <a href=\"https:\/\/earthquakes.ok.gov\/\">900 earthquakes<\/a> in 2015 and polls showed the matter was dampening<a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3528501-2015-03-OERB-Board-Minutes-1.html#document\/p3\/a346342\"> the industry\u2019s \u201cbrand.\u201d<\/a> Energy resources board members insisted that no cause for the seismic uptick be cited in the videos. Records show that Morgan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3528501-2015-03-OERB-Board-Minutes-1.html#document\/p5\/a346347\">cautioned his colleagues to<\/a> be \u201ccareful not to state anything that someone might misconstrue and attempt to use in a court case.\u201d Soon afterward, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/04\/22\/us\/oklahoma-acknowledges-wastewater-from-oil-and-gas-wells-as-major-cause-of-quakes.html\">state officials acknowledged<\/a> that underground wells used for fracking waste likely were to blame.<\/p><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/106834573?color=ffffff&byline=0\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>\u2018We need oil. We need gas.\u2019<\/h3><p>Carla Schaeperkoetter, the energy resources board\u2019s education director, is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carlaschae.com\/resume\">the creator<\/a> of \u201cBig Bad Dream\u201d and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/106834573\">Lab Time with Leo<\/a>\u201d\u2014 a video series featuring a bowtie-wearing scientist not unlike Bill Nye the Science Guy. Instead of exploring fundamentals like the solar system, Leo delves into the nuances of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=VaA2wzaKmNA\">oil refining<\/a>, teaching kids as young as 8 about \u201cfractional distillation\u201d and \u201cresiduals.\u201d<\/p><p>Like her predecessor, Schaeperkoetter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/carla-schaeperkoetter-a8b547a6\/\">doesn\u2019t have<\/a> any teaching experience and isn\u2019t a state employee. Board staff, including Schaeperkoetter, are consultants hired by a private foundation affiliated with the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.oipa.com\">Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association<\/a>. The state trade group is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ipaa.org\/about\/cooperating-associations\/\">listed as a partner<\/a> of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ipaa.org\">Independent Petroleum Association of America<\/a>, a lobbying organization that worked closely with API <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eenews.net\/stories\/1059979346\">to roll back federal rules<\/a> on fracking.<\/p><p>Schaeperkoetter\u2019s name appears on curricula reassuring teachers that \u201ccompanies are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3534933-Little-Bits-Curriculum-Kindergarten-to-2nd-Grade.html#document\/p5\/a350260\">spending more dollars<\/a> protecting the environment than drilling new wells.\u201d A jump-rope rhyme reads, \u201cWe need oil. We need gas. Where are the oil products in our class?\u201d And a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3537976-Core-Energy-Social-Studies.html#document\/p139\/a350296\">high school guide<\/a> asks students to create 30-second commercials on how \u201cnew technologies to find oil and natural gas will help America be energy independent.\u201d<\/p><p><a href=\"http:\/\/education.msu.edu\/search\/formview.aspx?email=andya%40msu.edu\">Charles W. Anderson<\/a>\u2014 a professor at Michigan State University who studies environmental literacy and develops curricula \u2014 said the board materials are upfront about their pro-industry agenda but only tell \u201chalf the story\u201d by omitting global issues like climate change in favor of niche oil knowledge. \u201cThe children of Oklahoma are getting a raw deal \u2014 they are getting educationally ineffective materials teaching content that will be of little use to them if they want to leave the state,\u201d Anderson said.<\/p><p>Students also are being sold short in more immediate ways: an increasing number of Oklahoma districts are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/local\/education\/with-state-budget-in-crisis-many-oklahoma-schools-hold-classes-four-days-a-week\/2017\/05\/27\/24f73288-3cb8-11e7-8854-21f359183e8c_story.html?utm_term=.e90a2d7d610c\">adopting four-day school weeks<\/a> amid budget cuts due partly to tax breaks for the petroleum industry. \u201cThe state government of Oklahoma, in its wisdom, has decided that oil and gas companies should have a whole lot of money and schools should have hardly any money,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cThat\u2019s a social decision that values oil and gas extraction over the public good of public schools.\u201d<\/p><p>Oklahoma\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/sde.ok.gov\/sde\/\">State Department of Education<\/a>\u00a0promotes energy board lessons online and in newsletters. Though the curricula are described by the board as having been developed in \u201ca collaborative effort\u201d with the state, the education department has \u201cnot reviewed, endorsed or had any oversight\u201d over the materials in two decades, spokeswoman Anne Price said.<\/p><p>\u201cWe value curricula that align to our state standards and are at no cost to educators, but ultimately we encourage educators to investigate further to choose what is best for their classrooms,\u201d Price wrote in an email.<\/p><p>Without explicit guidance, experts say, it\u2019s difficult for educators to assess which materials are appropriate \u2014 especially elementary-school teachers who don\u2019t have extensive science training. Historically, K-12 energy curricula have been scarce, leaving a window open for groups looking to mold young minds.<\/p><p>\u201cThis provides an opportunity for anyone who has a particular point of view, whether it\u2019s an oil company or an environmental concern,\u201d said David Evans, executive director of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nsta.org\">National Science Teachers Association<\/a>, which co-developed the Next Generation Science Standards. Both the association and the standards are supported by corporate money.<\/p><p>The standards specify which concepts students should grasp by grade level \u2014 like the greenhouse effects of gases like carbon dioxide and methane \u2014 but don\u2019t provide curricula, leaving educators to find or create lessons themselves. So far, the standards have been adopted by 18 states and the District of Columbia.<\/p><p>When it comes to climate change, Evans urges teachers to stick to facts and avoid politics. \u201cScience is about understanding the physical world that we live in,\u201d he said. \u201cWe wouldn&#8217;t say, \u2018Why should people understand gravity?\u2019\u201d<\/p><p>But education is inherently political, said <a href=\"https:\/\/geog.okstate.edu\/people\/faculty\">Nicole Colston<\/a>, a researcher at Oklahoma State University who has <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0016718515002201\">studied<\/a> overlap between groups that push against evolution and climate change education. \u201cIt\u2019s this implied thing that you can\u2019t talk about climate change,\u201d she said of her interviews with Oklahoma teachers. \u201cIt\u2019s almost, like, impolite or uncomfortable.\u201d<\/p><p>Prominent Oklahomans like Pruitt and Republican <a href=\"http:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/inhofe-declares-kids-brainwashed-after-granddaughter-asks-about-climate-change-484651\">U.S. Sen. James Inhofe<\/a> are climate-science deniers, a fact not lost on the state\u2019s residents. Just 46 percent of adult Oklahomans believe global warming is caused mostly by human activities, below the national average of 53 percent, according to <a href=\"http:\/\/climatecommunication.yale.edu\/visualizations-data\/ycom-us-2016\/\">2016 data<\/a> from the <a href=\"http:\/\/climatecommunication.yale.edu\/\">Yale Program on Climate Change Communication<\/a>.<\/p><p>In 2014, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usnews.com\/news\/articles\/2014\/06\/20\/how-the-climate-change-debate-is-influencing-whats-taught-in-schools\">Oklahoma lawmakers tried but failed to block<\/a> the state board of education from adopting its version of Next Generation Science Standards. The same year, a state law was passed to give local school districts ultimate authority over curricula.<\/p><p>Merritt said she chose to use energy resources board materials because they were age-appropriate, factual and free. \u201cIt\u2019s just a way of life,\u201d she said of the curriculum\u2019s laser focus on petroleum. \u201cWe live in Oklahoma. There\u2019s a lot of oil.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_28383\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 320px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28383\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/magicbarrel.gif\" alt=\"\u201cThe Magic Barrel\u201d was a promotional video produced by DuPont for the American Petroleum Institute. The film hyped petrochemicals like Freon-12. \" width=\"320\" height=\"240\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/magicbarrel.gif 320w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/magicbarrel-150x113.gif 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/magicbarrel-300x225.gif 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">The Hagley Museum<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u201cThe Magic Barrel\u201d was a promotional video produced by DuPont for the American Petroleum Institute. The film hyped petrochemicals like Freon-12.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>\u2018The Magic Suitcase\u2019<\/h3><p>Smiling broadly, the host pulls item after item from two large drums. Plastic wrap, shingles, Lucite \u2014 all \u201cmodern day miracles\u201d made possible by oil and petrochemicals. Three minutes into the muted-color film, the man in the tan suit and plaid tie pours Freon-12 from a pressurized canister.<\/p><p>\u201cYou may be able to note that it is boiling violently, just as water would boil on a stove,\u201d he says, holding up a glass of the clear liquid. \u201cYes, it\u2019s a safe refrigerant. I\u2019ll just pour some on my clothing. And now, watch the frost appear. I\u2019ll blow on it. Oh, it\u2019s cold all right.\u201d<\/p><p>Scientists now know Freon is far from benign. Forms of the coolant are still being <a href=\"http:\/\/ozone.unep.org\/en\/treaties-and-decisions\/montreal-protocol-substances-deplete-ozone-layer\">phased out<\/a> after research in the 1980s found it was rapidly depleting the Earth\u2019s ozone layer. The volatile chemical is moderately toxic when inhaled.<\/p><p>Shot in the 1960s, <a href=\"http:\/\/digital.hagley.org\/islandora\/object\/islandora%3A2463581\">\u201cThe Magic Barrel\u201d<\/a> promoted a one-man show of the same name developed by chemical giant DuPont for the American Petroleum Institute. By 1954, DuPont had trained <a href=\"http:\/\/digital.hagley.org\/1954_48_05#page\/22\/mode\/1up\">600 oil-industry workers<\/a> to deliver the show-and-tell in classrooms, with 40 assigned to New York\u2019s 230 middle schools and high schools. The lecture was a fixture of Oil Progress Week, API\u2019s bygone annual celebration of all things petroleum.<\/p><p>Half a century later, a version of the demonstration \u2014 which uses a suitcase instead of a barrel and originally targeted women\u2019s groups \u2014 lives on. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=TlQ-5LjW8oE\">YouTube videos<\/a> show the talk being delivered at elementary schools in West Virginia, a state <a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2016\/jan\/23\/west-virginia-natural-gas-production-numbers-shock\/\">embracing natural gas amid coal\u2019s decline<\/a>. \u201cThe Magic Suitcase\u201d also has made the rounds in Texas, Wyoming, Louisiana, and most recently in Pennsylvania and Colorado.<\/p><p>While oil and gas is not the only industry to market to young audiences, it is among the most prolific and enduring. Records detail API\u2019s early efforts to rehab the industry\u2019s image by influencing educators. In the 1950s, companies like DuPont worked hand in hand with API\u2019s budding public-relations division, which sent \u201cflying squadrons\u201d of industry representatives to schools nationwide, getting two million copies of API lessons into classrooms.<\/p><p>Inspiration for these squadrons sprang from a 1946 study surveying 10,000 Americans, according to the 1990 API history. The document\u2019s author wrote that, &#8220;the more people knew about the petroleum industry, the more favorable were their feelings towards it.\u201d To combat the industry\u2019s negative reputation, the study suggested \u201ca well-directed program of public education was the right medicine to bring about a cure.&#8221;<\/p><p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hkstrategies.com\/\">Hill & Knowlton<\/a> \u2014 the public-relations firm that would later <a href=\"http:\/\/articles.latimes.com\/1994-09-18\/magazine\/tm-40179_1_tobacco-industry\">help the tobacco industry<\/a> fend off cancer claims \u2014 was brought on to strategize. The firm surmised that the \u201cpetroleum industry&#8217;s legislative difficulties could be traced to misunderstandings by government and the public\u201d and laid out a plan to cultivate \u2018\u201cthought leaders\u2019 or \u2018opinion molders\u2019 \u2014 educators, editors, columnists, the clergy, business and financial leaders and, of course, key people in government,\u201d according to the 1990 document.<\/p><p>In 1960, educators helped revamp API materials that eventually made their way into 25,000 secondary schools. Advertisers were hired to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3480569-3865-001.html\">ghost-write scripts<\/a> hyping oil for popular children\u2019s programs like Art Linkletter\u2019s \u201cHouse Party.\u201d The widely televised <a href=\"http:\/\/www.texasarchive.org\/library\/index.php\/2011_02147\">\u201cOdyssey: A Quest for Energy,\u201d<\/a> was among dozens of educational videos made available through API\u2019s vast regional network.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_28384\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 132px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-28384\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/bookscanmagicbarrel-132x300.jpg\" alt=\"DuPont promoted \u201cThe Magic Barrel\u201d film in a brochure.\" width=\"132\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/bookscanmagicbarrel-132x300.jpg 132w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/bookscanmagicbarrel-220x500.jpg 220w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/bookscanmagicbarrel-66x150.jpg 66w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/bookscanmagicbarrel-451x1024.jpg 451w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/bookscanmagicbarrel-476x1080.jpg 476w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/06\/bookscanmagicbarrel.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 132px) 100vw, 132px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">The Hagley Museum<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">DuPont promoted \u201cThe Magic Barrel\u201d film in a brochure.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>The 1982 film examined renewable energy, but made the best case for fossil fuels \u2014 urging that offshore drilling be expanded \u201cinto deeper waters\u201d and that federal lands be opened for coal mining in promotional brochures sent to some 14,000 schools. Within months, more than 1,300 schools wanted to screen \u201cOdyssey.\u201d Indiana officials ordered enough kits to show the film to every high-schooler in the state. API\u2019s public relations team <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3480584-3851-001.html\">meticulously tracked \u201cOdyssey\u2019s\u201d reach<\/a>, estimating that at least five million Americans saw the film.<\/p><p>API did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p><p>API\u2019s message was amplified with the help of an unlikely ally \u2014 the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nsta.org\/\">National Science Teachers Association<\/a>, which boasts some 55,000 members of mostly K-12 educators. The association worked closely with API and utility executives during the 1970s to develop <a href=\"http:\/\/energyeducationreferences.pbworks.com\/w\/page\/33459812\/NSTA%20PEEC\">K-12 energy curricula<\/a>. When federal funding dried up in the 1980s, the association turned to corporate sponsors to cover costs.<\/p><p>As pressure to act on global warming mounted during the 1990s, API ramped up its strategy to quiet critics, including leveraging its relationship with the teachers association. Months after the language of a global climate treaty known as the <a href=\"http:\/\/unfccc.int\/kyoto_protocol\/items\/2830.php\">Kyoto Protocol<\/a> was finalized in 1997, an internal <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20070715153809\/http:\/www.edf.org\/documents\/3860_GlobalClimateSciencePlanMemo.pdf\">memo<\/a> obtained by <i>The New York Times <\/i>laid out API\u2019s plans to infuse doubt about climate change into K-12 materials. Less than a decade later, the association <a href=\"https:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/science-teachers-organization-refuses-to-accept-copies-of-inconvenient-truth-b1d5926c104\">garnered criticism<\/a> for distributing API\u2019s \u201cFuel-less\u201d film to teachers while API funded the association\u2019s educational website for kids.<\/p><p>Some of API\u2019s largest corporate members, including Chevron and Shell, remain top sponsors of the teachers association. Evans, who has led the association since 2013, said he was unable to comment on the organization\u2019s past but defended the group\u2019s independence. \u201cIt\u2019s NSTA that decides what the content should be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<h3>\u2018Win-win\u2019<\/h3><p>With only 14 seniors, the class of 2016 came nowhere near filling a gymnasium in Salineville, Ohio \u2014 a town of 1,300 about 50 miles west of Pittsburgh. \u201cIn this region, there are phenomenal opportunities,\u201d said Rhonda Reda, delivering the keynote speech at the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.uticashaleschool.com\/\">Utica Shale Academy<\/a> graduation. \u201cGo out there and make a difference.\u201d<\/p><p>Named after the <a href=\"http:\/\/marcelluscoalition.org\/pa-map\/\">rock formation<\/a> that stretches from eastern Ohio to Canada, the tuition-free charter school founded in 2014 promises \u201creal opportunity\u201d outside of \u201ctraditional settings.\u201d Instead of hitting textbooks, students work on drilling certifications and intern for oil companies. Attendance is flexible: students must spend more than half their time on campus \u2014 an increase from a previous requirement of at least 15 hours weekly.<\/p><p>The academy rents space from two high schools. A third location for K-12 students was shuttered last June after just a year in operation. The academy\u2019s website prominently displays the logos of corporate partners like <a href=\"http:\/\/www.chk.com\/\">Chesapeake Energy<\/a>, whose executives meet with school administrators to help carve out the curriculum for the year.<\/p><p>One of the academy\u2019s most prominent sponsors, the <a href=\"http:\/\/oogeep.org\/\">Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program<\/a>\u2014led by Reda \u2014 has stirred up criticism for its pro-drilling message. Like the Oklahoma energy resources board, the Ohio group is industry-funded, state-sanctioned and conducts free teacher workshops. In a meeting with state legislators in 2016, Reda said that 2,700 teachers statewide had attended the workshops since 1997.<\/p><p>Lisa Hoyos of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.climateparents.org\/\">Climate Parents<\/a>, an affiliate of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sierraclub.org\/\">Sierra Club<\/a> that successfully petitioned <a href=\"http:\/\/america.aljazeera.com\/articles\/2014\/1\/8\/radio-disney-s-partnershipwithgasindustryinohiohassomereeling.html\">Radio Disney to sever ties<\/a> with Reda\u2019s group in 2014, criticized educational content that pushes\u00a0 petroleum\u2019s benefits but sidesteps its downsides. \u201cThey\u2019re basically indoctrinating children,\u201d she said of the Ohio program. \u201cAll the materials [the program is] putting out are about oil and gas, which are the chief culprits, along with coal, in causing climate change.\u201d<\/p><p>Before founding the Ohio program in 1997, Reda handled public affairs for the state\u2019s Oil and Gas Association. She sits on the communications committee for the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ipaa.org\/\">Independent Petroleum Association of America<\/a>, which created <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energyindepth.org\/\">Energy in Depth<\/a> \u2014 a website run by a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fticonsulting.com\/\">public-relations firm<\/a> that aggressively disputes industry criticism and news media reports, including <a href=\"http:\/\/energyindepth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/EID-Eppy-Letter-with-Emails.pdf\">investigative work<\/a> done by the Center for Public Integrity. Reda\u2019s program <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ipaa.org\/2011\/09\/30\/energy-in-depth-ohio-officially-launched\/\">helped launch<\/a> Energy in Depth\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energyindepth.org\/ohio\/\">Ohio section<\/a> in 2011.<\/p><p>Reda declined in an email to elaborate on her relationship with lobby groups, but wrote that her organization \u201cdoes not utilize any taxpayer dollars\u201d and \u201cdoes not lobby the legislature or take positions on regulatory or public policy.\u201d She added that her program \u201cmay elect on occasion to collaborate with other oil and gas groups, educational institutions and other experts on specific projects.\u201d<\/p><p>Reda\u2019s group has helped develop lessons for the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.need.org\/\">National Energy Education Development Project<\/a>, or NEED, a nonprofit that publishes thousands of pages of K-12 energy lessons online. A <a href=\"http:\/\/www.need.org\/files\/curriculum\/guides\/ExploringOilandGas.pdf\">2015 NEED lesson<\/a> teaches students how to \u2018frack\u2019 a frozen layer cake using chocolate syrup and a syringe-like turkey injector \u2014 not unlike Ohio\u2019s demonstration using Twinkies.<\/p><p>Oil and gas companies are among NEED\u2019s most prominent backers. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.conocophillips.com\/Pages\/default.aspx\">ConocoPhillips<\/a> has sponsored <a href=\"http:\/\/www.need.org\/phillips66\">NEED workshops<\/a> since 2008, exposing\u00a0 educators nationwide to packets like \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.need.org\/files\/curriculum\/guides\/OilGasandTheirEnergy.pdf\">Oil, Gas and their Energy<\/a>,\u201d and \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.need.org\/files\/curriculum\/guides\/ExploringOilandGas.pdf\">Exploring Oil and Gas<\/a>.\u201d A 2014 NEED guide tells of Sue Ann, who is a sticky pool of oil waiting to be freed, and Stacey, who wants to follow in her father\u2019s footsteps and become a blowout specialist on an offshore rig.<\/p><p>Executive Director Mary Spruill said NEED teams up with industry groups to train future workers, but the groups don\u2019t play a substantial role in developing content. \u201cWe don\u2019t send drafts to our partners,\u201d she said.<\/p><p>Like Reda, Spruill does not have an education or science background. Lessons from both their groups have been adapted by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.arkansasenergyrocks.com\">\u201cArkansas Energy Rocks!\u201d<\/a>, a website dedicated to teaching kids about the \u201cthriving oil and natural gas industry.\u201d Lessons\u00a0 include \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.arkansasenergyrocks.com\/educators\/lessonplans9-12\/Rusert-Just-a-Little-Oil-Spill-Lesson-Plan.pdf\">Just a little oil spill<\/a>,\u201d which uses drops of vegetable oil in a pie plate filled with water to simulate an offshore oil spill, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.arkansasenergyrocks.com\/educators\/lessonplans9-12\/Goodin-Persuasion-Power-Lesson-Plan.pdf\">\u201cPersuasion POWER!\u201d<\/a> which highlights the legislative process with a congressional press release titled, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/energycommerce.house.gov\/news-center\/press-releases\/consumers-desperate-new-natural-gas-pipelines\">Consumers desperate for new natural gas pipelines<\/a>.\u201d It\u2019s unclear how many schools are using the materials.<\/p><p>The website is a project of the <a href=\"http:\/\/aipro.org\/education\/\">Arkansas Energy Education Foundation<\/a>, a nonprofit arm of the <a href=\"http:\/\/aipro.org\/\">Arkansas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners<\/a>. The program\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/trademarks.justia.com\/863\/04\/arkansas-energy-86304873.html\">logo<\/a> and website are registered to the American Petroleum Institute. Listed as a contact for an <a href=\"http:\/\/www.har.com\/arkansas-energy-rocks-annual-teacher-energy-education-workshop\/event_E0-001-082460546-2\">all-expenses-paid teachers\u2019 worksho<\/a>p in 2015 promoting \u201cArkansas Energy Rocks!\u201d was the personal email address of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/paige-miller-apr-46713224\/\">Paige Miller<\/a>, an API public-affairs specialist based in Little Rock.<\/p><p>Spruill works closely with the Independent Petroleum Association of America, sitting on an advisory board for the lobby group\u2019s five \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/ipaa.org\/education\/academies\/index.php\">Petroleum Academies<\/a>.\u201d IPAA, whose chief executive and lobbyist, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ipaa.org\/about\/board-of-directors\/barry-russell\/\">Barry Russell<\/a>, is co-chair of the advisory board, has billed the academies\u00a0 as a \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/ipaa.org\/education\/pdf\/ipaa_edcenterbrochure.pdf\">win-win<\/a>\u201d for high schoolers and oil companies in Houston and Fort Worth.<\/p><p>Students are encouraged to put themselves in industry leaders\u2019 shoes by <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/117528427\">competing<\/a> for lucrative leasing deals as fictional oil companies and delivering presentations on topics like \u201cclearing misconceptions of the oil and gas industry.\u201d<\/p><p>Despite the hard sell, some students are unsure of their <a href=\"http:\/\/www.houstonchronicle.com\/business\/economy\/article\/Houston-s-schools-adjust-to-an-oil-bust-after-8350400.php\">prospects in the petroleum industry.<\/a> The ongoing oil-price slump has made jobs in the industry scarce and advancements in automation are expected to accelerate the trend.<\/p><p>Even in a state built on fossil fuels, other career options have grown more appealing. Having interviewed administrators at the academies, the <i>Houston Chronicle<\/i> reported last year that \u201cstudents were gravitating more toward climate-friendly subjects like algae-based biofuel and super-efficient tiny houses.\u201d<\/p><p><i>Joe Wertz, a reporter with StateImpact Oklahoma,<\/i> <i>contributed to this story.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jennifer Merritt\u2019s first-graders at Jefferson Elementary School in Pryor, Oklahoma, were in for a treat. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, the students gathered in late November for story time with two special guests, state Rep. Tom Gann and state Sen. Marty Quinn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":28386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"page-noFeature.php","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[490],"tags":[549,855,369,706],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28374"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28374"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28374\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31102,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28374\/revisions\/31102"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}