Big Oil’s marketing campaign is attempting to establish a presence within US classrooms. A nonprofit organization, backed by the fossil fuel industry, is working its way into Illinois public schools to encourage students to consider careers in oil and gas fields. Despite the state’s shift away from fossil fuels, the Illinois Petroleum Resources Board (IPRB) aims to persuade students of the future job prospects in the industry, a promise experts argue is unlikely to materialize.
Founded in 1998, the Illinois Petroleum Resources Board (IPRB) describes itself as an ‘industry-funded education and outreach program’. Run by representatives from the oil and gas sector, the IPRB is part of a wider national landscape of fossil fuel industry-funded marketing posing as education, infiltrating schools across the country. Despite Illinois leading the Midwest in transitioning to clean energy, the IPRB continues to run in-school presentations, workshops, and promotional campaigns, aiming to convince students of the benefits of a career in fossil fuels.
Critics accuse the IPRB of misleading students about the future of the fossil fuel industry. With the need to move away from fossil fuels, many have expressed concerns about the IPRB’s influence in schools. Advocacy groups argue that the IPRB spins distorted narratives about the continued necessity and future viability of the oil and gas industry. This includes the assertion that the modern world couldn’t function without fossil fuels, a framing environmental group Food & Water Watch claims is misleading.
The IPRB isn’t the only organization of its kind. Other states, including Oklahoma, Kansas, and Arkansas, have similar petroleum-focused energy boards with educational missions, and some of these states’ materials are used directly by the Illinois board. All market to students that oil and gas jobs will be plentiful in the future, a promise that many experts argue is false, particularly in states like Illinois shifting away from fossil fuel dependence.
IPRB professional development workshops for teachers have attracted criticism. Presented as largely pro-oil and offering free science kits to attendees, critics argue that these sessions are passing on biased information to instructors, who may then pass it along to students. The National Center for Science Education has voiced concerns about these materials.
Uncertainty around the future of fossil fuels in Illinois, paired with the state’s clear move towards clean energy, casts doubts on the IPRB’s sanguine outlook. State and education officials have acknowledged a need to focus on broad, equitable job access in renewable energy industries. As Illinois strives to future-proof against a fossil-fuel decline, many warn that groups like the IPRB can complicate this goal by failing to adjust to the shifting energy landscape.
Source: Big Oil’s Marketing Campaign Is Targeting US Classrooms.
