Earlier this week, ThinkProgress noted that New Jersey high school senior Matthew LaClair exposed the American Government high school textbook — written by conservatives James Q. Wilson and John Diulio — for promoting climate-denier myths. The textbook casts doubt on whether the greenhouse effect “exists at all.” Houghton Mifflin issued this statement in response to the growing controversy:
The authors do not provide a history of global warming; rather they use the issue to illustrate “entrepreneurial politics.” As part of this illustration, the book cites a wide range of sources, from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to Nobel Prize Winner Al Gore.
Late last year, we released the 11th edition of “American Government,” which included some revisions to the “entrepreneurial politics” section. These revisions reflect current developments in environmental policy research.
Every single one of these statements is false or misleading. The Wonk Room’s Brad Johnson does a thorough debunk here.
Update
The textbook controversy has received local coverage in Buffalo, NY, Pocatello, ID, and Phoenix, AZ.
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