In February 2018, the Idaho House of Representatives Education Committee voted to remove a section discussing the environmental impacts of fossil fuels from new science education standards, developed by the state Department of Education. The Committee vote concerned a section (ESS 3-4-1) of the Earth and Space Sciences standard, titled “Earth and Human Activity.” Section ESS 3-4-1 required students to:
“[o]btain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and their uses affect the environment.”
It further stated:
“Examples of renewable energy resources could include wind energy, water behind dams, and sunlight; non-renewable energy resources are fossil fuels and atomic energy. Examples of environmental effects could include negative biological impacts of wind turbines, erosion due to deforestation, loss of habitat due to dams, loss of habitat due to surface mining, and air pollution from burning of fossil fuels.”
The House Education Committee voted to remove section ESS 3-4-1 and all “supporting content” throughout the standard.
Update:
On February 22, 2018, the Idaho Education Committee voted to approve the original standards, which included references to climate change. This will reportedly nullify the House Committee’s attempt to remove references to climate change from the standards as any revisions must be approved by both committees.