Michael Sanera and Jane S. Shaw

Many commentators insist that environmentalists, the media, and the education system have overstated the extent of rain forest deforestation. Among these critics are Michael Sanera and Jane S. Shaw, who argue in the following viewpoint that educational textbooks grossly exaggerate the effects of rain forest cutting. These books overestimate the amount of rain forest area cut annually, Sanera and Shaw assert, without acknowledging the amount of land devoted to newly planted trees. The authors contend that school textbooks also exaggerate the threat of carbon dioxide buildup and the extent of species extinction due to rain forest deforestation. Sanera and Shaw are the authors of Facts, Not Fear: A Parent’s Guide to Teaching Children About the Environment, from which this viewpoint is excerpted.

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