Facts, Not Fear: A Parent’s Guide to Teaching Children About the Environment

by Michael Sanera and Jane Shaw

Regnery Publishing, Inc.

Christians tend to reject most environmental education resources because they embody animistic or pantheistic worldviews combined with pseudo-science. (Christians shouldn’t be the only ones rejecting this nonsense!) Assuming that most young people have been exposed to quite a bit of environmental misinformation, Sanera and Shaw try to set the record straight.

While acknowledging the reality of some environmental problems, they balance popularly held concepts with scientific fact and logical analysis to put things into proper perspective. For example, they tackle global warning by examining the records of temperature change (acknowledging about .5 degree Celsius change over the past 100 years); discussing mathematical computer-generated models; pointing out questionable and unlikely assumptions within those models; addressing common questions; and suggesting activities, field trips, and additional reading.

This is a resource book for parents to use with children of all ages. Since Facts, Not Fear was not intended for only Christian audiences, it does not address the spiritual worldview issues except for a brief mention that this is an issue to consider.

Assuming that most children attend government schools, the authors frequently refer to texts used in those schools. They also provide two lists of “environmental” books—one list of books to avoid, and the other of books to add to your library.