GRAND JUNCTION — A national group that thinks global warming is “junk science” and that teaching it is unnecessarily scaring schoolchildren brought its first petition effort for “balanced education” to Mesa County Schools on Tuesday night.

Rose Pugliese, an unsuccessful candidate for a District 51 school board seat in the last election, presented a petition with 700 signatures to the board asking that science teachers stop giving lessons on global warming.

Pugliese, a 32-year-old Grand Junction attorney and activist in Tea Party and conservative Republican groups, also presented a petition with 600 signatures demanding Mesa County schools keep political views out of classrooms.

Pugliese’s efforts have made her the poster girl for the group Balanced Education for Everyone and have pinpointed Mesa County as a national test case for keeping the teaching of humans’ influence on global warming out of science classes.

“It (global warming) is not a proven scientific theory. There is not evidence to support it,” Pugliese told the board, generating applause from about 40 Tea Party and other conservative group members who filled the room for the first school board petition battle over this issue in the country.

The climate-change deniers scoffed and shook their heads when a scientist and a college professor spoke up to say that global warming is a well-supported scientific fact.

“This is not just some liberal theory,” said Richard Alward, an ecologist with a Ph.D.

Tamera Minnick, an associate professor in environmental science at Mesa State College, had the audience tittering when she told the board that global warming is as certain a scientific theory as those describing relativity, gravity and evolution.

Pugliese and three other people who spoke against global-warming education said that if the subject is going to be taught, the “other side” should be presented so that students aren’t subjected to a frightening untruth.

World to “melt away”

“A survey showed two out of three kids were coming home thinking their world is going to melt away and all the polar bears are going to die,” Laura Kindregan told the board.

The Denver resident came to the meeting to promote Balanced Education for Everyone. The movement began a campaign in April to remove the teaching of man-made global warming from science classes. The group focused on Grand Junction for its inaugural effort when Pugliese agreed to start a petition drive.

School board members accepted the petition and listened to the presentation but took no action.

“We’ll have to look at state curriculum and state standards and see what policies are already in place,” said board member Greg Mikolai.

Board member Harry Butler said this is the first time he has heard a complaint alleging that teachers are espousing too many liberal ideas in classrooms.

Since Pugliese wrapped up her petition drive and was prominently featured on the Balanced Education for Everyone website and Facebook page, the notion of putting an end to global-warming education has begun to gain traction. A parent in Las Vegas has started a petition campaign. Closer to home, parents in Franktown and Littleton have also complained on the movement’s website about the “liberal madness” in Colorado schools.

Balanced Education for Everyone was formed by the conservative Independent Women’s Forum, which heavily promotes the documentary “Not Evil Just Wrong” as the basis for classroom lesson plans and also as the “scientifically accurate” truth about global warming. The video was created as a counterpoint to Al Gore’s Oscar-winning global-warming documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth.”

Brenda Ekwurzel, a climate scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, said she finds the “Not Evil Just Wrong” curriculum push “very troubling” because the majority of scientists around the world agree that global warming is accelerating because of the effect of human activities on top of a natural cycle of warming.

“To keep this information out of schools is really anti-education,” Ekwurzel said. “It seems to me what is equivalent would be teaching that if you smoke tobacco, there is no risk you will ever develop cancer.”

Pugliese said she personally doesn’t think global warming should be talked about at all in schools. And she is not in favor of showing movies in classrooms.

But she said she took up the Balanced Education for Everyone issue when, while running for school board, parents approached her to complain that their children couldn’t freely express their conservative values in class.

Put in moral dilemma

She said one student was placed in a moral dilemma when he encountered a CSAP question and knew the “correct” answer was “global warming,” while not believing that was true.

Pugliese told the board she will return in several months “to see where you guys are at.”

One of her supporters, Doug Thompson, warned the board that “the people of this community are watching, and we want to see change.” He said failure to act could have consequences in the next board elections.

Pugliese, who has the backing of Colorado State Board of Education member Marcia Neal, said she hopes to expand her campaign to attack curriculum issues on a larger scale.

“This is just a small battle in a larger battle,” Pugliese said. “I really hope this inspires more people to get involved in our schools.”

Nancy Lofholm: 970-256-1957 or nlofholm@denverpost.com