Outnumbered Hosts Say Teacher is Profiteering in Fight Against Climate Change Denial

The hosts of Fox’s Outnumbered Monday afternoon roundly accused an Oregon teacher of profiteering from his fight against climate change denial in Portland schools.

Following a report that the Portland School Board has decided to ban teaching materials that shed doubt on man-made climate change, the hosts took aim at the teacher who helped to draft the policy, Tim Swinehart.

Swinehart co-edited a textbook for teaching about environmental issues to schoolchildren, which was published a little over a year-and-a-half ago.

When the show’s guest Hashtag One Lucky Guy Jesse Waters announced that the school board’s next plan was to devise a curriculum for teaching climate change and “climate justice,” co-host Sandra Smith leapt in: “Like buying his new book!”

“Yeah, what a coincidence,” Waters said sarcastically.

Kennedy said that “justice” was a “dog-whistle for the left” and an “anti-scientific” gloss on issues. She said Swinehart’s effort to reform the curriculum was “grossly limiting academic thought.”

Smith added that it was conceivable that Swinehart was “pushing his own agenda to profit off this.” She added, “He could definitely gain from this new policy.”

Eboni K. Williams agreed, saying, “I think it’s a complete and total conflict of interest for this teacher to have a monetized opportunity” in this issue.

[image via screengrab]

This post has been updated.

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