Natural Gas Book for Kids is a Utility-Funded Propoganda Book

A local Utility sent children in Massachusetts propaganda extolling the virtues of Natural Gas. Gleb Bahmutov, a Cambridge, Massachusetts resident, posted images of two Eversource Energy-produced booklets that his son brought home from elementary school last week on Twitter. The fossil fuel industry has dug its teeth into the educational system in the United States. Utilities, too, have changed.

The booklets, according to Bahmutov, made no mention of climate change. Bahmutov said, “Eversource is not a company that should be publishing activity books. It sounds like propaganda, and I was born in the Soviet Union, so I don’t use that term lightly.” The booklets have a URL on the front cover that leads to a website called E-Smart Kids, which is run by utility Xcel Energy and created by Culver Company, which also published the booklets Bahmutov posted.

Although Eversource’s page on the E-Smart Kids website is no longer live, a Wayback Machine capture of the site reveals that many of the same features are still active on the main page, including a game called Pipewinder in which kids can create a pipeline. Eversource said in response to the questions that they provide customers with important Natural Gas safety information.

The books aim to spread awareness about the importance of Natural Gas safety and protocols at residences. Moving forward, the goal is to recognize and improve all the materials can be improved but no more books are planned to be distributed further. They will continue to provide important Natural Gas safety tips in the future.