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Move Over Barney, Here comes the Fracosaurus (Sujatha)

Tterry There's been plenty of rainbows and peaceful green fields juxtaposed with happy faces and natural gas logos and clip art on the TV ads from the Marcellus Shale Coalition. But some companies have been taking this a step further. Catch 'em young is the motto, so here comes the Fracosaurus, or actually Talisman Terry .

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

"Community outreach efforts in shale communities target adults first, then high school students and finally the elementary set, said Larry Michael, the executive director for workforce and economic development at the Marcellus Shale Education and Training Center at the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport.

When the Marcellus Shale industry arrived, "The initial priority was to put in programs to get people off the unemployment rolls," he said.

Now, his team is working at the high school level, offering curriculum and training to teachers over the summer. It will begin the elementary-education rollout sometime after the summer."

As far as coloring books go, the literary content never outweighs the need to provide a scribbling surface for your toddler, while infusing them with a healthy, subconscious dose of whatever propaganda you are agreable to dishing out.  Maybe this is aimed more at the parents than the crayon-wielding demographic. If they are old enough to read the words, they are past the 'color within the lines' simplicity of accepting whatever they are told without question. A kid-friendly coloring book might help convince them that it is not all about profit and environmental pollution, but about energy independence and 'conservation'. 

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3 responses to “Move Over Barney, Here comes the Fracosaurus (Sujatha)”

  1. Ruchira

    I had once heard a corporate type in India boast that when one wants to sell questionable products, the trick is to charm the wives and beguile the children. That was many years ago and I think it pertained to bribes to obtain operating licenses. But this is the same tactic. What next? Submarine trips around deep water oil derricks; miniature dyno-mining sets, glow-in-the-dark radioactive lollipops, “clean” coal in Christmas stockings; crumbling iceberg viewing cruises at the arctics. The possibilities are endless.

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  2. Sujatha

    Actually, the coolest thing would be to show how the tap water catches on fire, just as it does in the film Gasland. That would be enough to win the plaudits of the Tom Sawyer age group, at the very least.
    Or disaster tourism : See the wildlife before the fracking operations drive them all away. Or farmland converted into Walmarts/Targets to cater to the population explosion that follows as the industry puts down its roots in dwindling communities. There is growing vociferous opposition here in SW PA to the fracking industry’s practices, but with nil political will on the part of Governor Tom Corbett (brought to you courtesy of the natural gas, coal mining and healthcare industries), or rather too much gratitude on his part to his biggest funders, it’s the small people and general population who lose out.

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  3. Sujatha

    RIP Fracosaurus:
    “The Fracosaurus is now extinct.
    Talisman Terry, the “friendly Fracosaurus” star of a coloring book published by Talisman Energy, will no longer be around to explain the natural gas drilling process to youngsters. The Canadian company announced plans Thursday to stop distribution of the controversial children’s book.”
    Read more: http://postgazette.com/pg/11196/1160490-28.stm#ixzz1SAsMlcTV

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