Is BP Funding Oil-Company Biased "Climate Change" Education in America’s Public Schools? Oil Washing Students the BP Way.

BILL BERKOWITZ FOR BUZZFLASH

A new report from PR Watch maintains that BP has close ties to the Alliance for Climate Education, Inc., the ‘nation's largest provider of climate change education in public schools’

By virtue of its catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico – the biggest environmental disaster in U.S. history -- the oil company now known as BP (formerly British Petroleum), has had a regular presence on America’s television screens, computers, telephones – and anywhere else one gets their news. We’ve met its spokespersons; its officials; its Chairman. We’ve heard from some or all of these folks on a daily basis. We've seen them testify before Congress. We’ve been told about the company’s clean-up efforts and how it would make good on its financial obligations to everyone harmed by the disaster. We’ve also been subjected to altered photos on the company’s website, countless feeble apologies, and a stream of misinformation --particularly related to how much oil has gushed into the Gulf.

We’ve learned that when you stop at an ARCO gas station to buy your gas, or use Castrol products, you're shopping with BP.

Along the way, we’ve even learned something about the company’s sordid past and present history: how it was given the name British Petroleum (formerly the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company) shortly after the CIA – with British government encouragement and assistance – plotted and successfully executed the overthrow of the democratically-elected Iranian government of Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953; and, how more recently it played a role in the release of the bomber of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270people. CNN’s Anderson Cooper recently posed this question: “Did BP influence the decision because it stood to lose a $900 million exploration deal with Libya?” 

Now, thanks to the folks at the Center for Media and Democracy’s PR Watch, we are learning even more about BP.

It appears that the global oil, gas and chemical company is playing a significant role in what is being taught about climate change in the public schools of America.

Apparently, BP has close links to the Alliance for Climate Education, Inc. (ACE) (http://www.acespace.org/), an Oakland, California-based group that is the “nation's largest provider of climate change education in public schools.” According to a new PR Watch report (http://www.prwatch.org/ACE+BP_Report) ACE, founded in July of 2008 as a nonprofit organization, “zoomed onto the scene to suddenly become a huge player in the much-overlooked field of climate education.”

The report points out that ACE “offers high schools free multimedia assemblies on climate change that utilize ‘cutting-edge animation, music and video’ (http://www.refresheverything.com/acespace)

In short, this is not the usual low-budget presentation that school assemblies are known for.” While this may be a worthy way for BP to use its corporate earnings, PR Watch notes that “questions remain about the messages ACE is giving youth using the free access it achieves to kids during school hours.”

Take the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico: ACE's featured web content on the oil spill “does not even mention ‘BP,’” the report notes, although it concedes the unimpeachable fact that the spill is a ‘disaster.’ Carefully-chosen images connected to the disaster include a swimming dolphin and a rescued pelican, alongside a clean-up worker and a photo of the effort to extinguish the Deepwater Horizon rig fire.

According to the PR Watch report, ACE has come up with some suggestions for activities that “young people can engage in to address their feelings of helplessness about the spill.” ACE suggests to young folks that they "Get your hair cut," and donate it “to a group that makes hair-filled booms to soak up oil. (The government's Deepwater Horizon Response office rejected the use of hair-filled booms in the Gulf months ago.)”

Another ACE suggestion? "Find a beach and participate in Hands Across the Sand -- a big demonstration in favor of protection of our coastal economies, oceans, marine wildlife and fishing industries." Other ideas include "Write a letter to Congress and ask them to fully fund larger coastal restoration projects" and "share info online." PR Watch concludes that “None of these activities would seem to interfere with the goals or sensibilities of big energy companies, including BP.”

ACE’s website is “also sprinkled with corporate names, logos, and subtle, green-themed cross-promotions,” the report maintains. “ACE recommends a climate change curriculum, for example, called ‘Facing the Future’ that was funded by Hewlett-Packard. Most people know about HP due to their ink-eating printers, but HP is also in the oil and gas business … [and] has worked closely with BP and other companies in oil exploration.” There are also “logos from soft drink and snack food companies that that are eager to ensure their brands have maximum exposure to teens.”  At its website, ACE points out that it is “in the running” for a $250,000 grant from the “Pepsi Refresh Project – Do Good For The Gulf,” which is part of the soft drink giant’s $1.3 million giveaway to communities impacted by the oil spill.

“Another page urges kids to participate in an environmentally-themed bicycle ride promotion for Clif Bars. In contrast, other web portals to climate change education are essentially devoid of for-profit company logos and corporate PR cross-promotions,” the report points out.

Ace has gotten off the ground running: According to PR Watch, ACE claims to have “reached 421,571 students at 891 schools,” “set up ten offices throughout the country, in Oakland, New York, D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, New England, Denver, Atlanta, Houston, and Austin.” ACE has “a marketing expert (Matt Stewart) and a national campaigns manager (Michael LaFemina),” and last year (its first year of existence), it “awarded $130,000 to students in the form of grants and scholarships.”

ACE had a presence “at ESPN’s Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado (a commercial event), the Earth Day Celebration on the national Mall, in Washington, D.C. (whose sponsors include Disney, T-Mobileand FedEx),and at the Governor’s Conference on Climate Change. The organization also has a retrofitted school bus, complete with corporate logos, that it has funded for a ‘BioBus’ concert tour, stopping in places like skate parks, beaches, and summer camps, where kids congregate in summer…. Thus, in a remarkably short time, ACE has managed to turned itself into one of the most powerful, well-funded organizations teaching high-school students about climate change in America today. It's reach far outstrips that of most other programs. How did this come about, and why?”

The short answer is that ACE’s start-up funding of $2.6 million came from Michael Haas -- the group’s founder – who has “made his career in wind power, most notably from Orion Energy, LLP. “In 2006,”the report points out, “Haas sold Orion to BP Alternative Energy for an undisclosed sum. The price has not been publicly disclosed, but what is known is that BP acquired two companies in 2006, Orion Energy, LLC, and Greenlight Energy, Inc., paying a combined total of $688 million for both. As part of that deal, Haas continues to serve as President of Orion Energy, which is now a subsidiary of BP.”

Haas is Chairman of ACE’s Board of Directors, which has two other members; Haas' father, Robert Haas, and Jim Elsen, who is also Vice President of Policy and Regulatory Affairs for BP Alternative Energy. The report also notes that “According to ACE’s tax records, Haas spent 25 hours a week working at ACE in its first year.”

Anne Landman and Ross Wolfarth, the authors of “BP Influencing Climate Ed?” rather amusingly noted that

Haas has a very short commute to work: “ACE is conveniently located down one flight of stairs from the offices of Orion Energy. ACE's physical address -- 360 22nd Street, Oakland, California -- is the same address as BP Alternative Energy and Orion Energy. So, the commute is easy for Eisen, who runs BP’s Alternative Energy lobbying shop, as well. BP is in Suite 850 and ACE is in Suite 730.”

Landman and Wolfarth point out that “The lack of transparency about ACE's ties to BP, and its remarkably well-funded nationwide reach into public schools is raising eyebrows among climate change educators. It also begs more questions about what is really behind ACE's turbo-charged efforts to gain access to teens and influence these consumers and future voters.”

In late June, ACE’s executive director, Pic Walker, wrote a “Year in review” column which pointed out that “ACE had a terrific first year.” In his “FinalNote,” however, Walker wrote that “ACE been fortunate to expand our base of support this year through generous grants from a variety of individuals, foundations and government agencies, and will continue to do so in the year to come. We recently heard from partners who received false information claiming ACE is intimately tied to BP, in that all our funding and organizational oversight comes from BP. I want to clarify that ACE has no connections financially or otherwise with BP. We are an independent 501c-3 with a diversity of funders, and will always develop our programs and manage the organization free from influence from outside organizations or companies."

The author of the report note that Walker’s “denial appears to be very carefully framed .... stat[ing] that ‘information claiming ACE is intimately tied to BP, in that all our funding and organizational oversight comes from BP’ is ‘false’ (emphasis added). By defining the claim as ‘all’ funding ‘and’ oversight come from BP, ACE can easily state that the purported claim is untrue. This leaves room for much funding and oversight from the two men who spend some of their work week in the BP executive quarters upstairs. At the same time, Walker states that ACE has ‘no connections financially or otherwise with BP,’ which means the corporation does not directly give money to ACE. BP, however, does not appear to mind having the president of its subsidiary spend 25 hours a week helping ACE while paying him an undisclosed sum.”