Summary of Roper Report 2001: Lessons from the Environment
Why 95% of Adult Americans Endorse Environmental Education
The Ninth Annual National Report Card on Environmental Attitudes, Knowledge, and Behaviors
May 200
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Although there is a persistent and troubling lack of environmental knowledge among Americans today, there is also a remarkable level of support for one possible solution: Fully 95% of adult Americans (including 95% of parents) believe that environmental education should be taught in our K-12 schools. The reason for this phenomenal level of support runs deeper than originally thought: There are numerous benefits that adults see children receiving from environmental education programs. Most adults also think that they themselves should have improved access to environmental education at home and in the work place.
The 2000 survey confirms that widespread environmental illiteracy persists. A majority of the public still does not know the leading causes of such issues as water pollution, air pollution and solid waste. However, this is not reflected in most peoples’ attitudes. In fact, there is increasing public concern about pollution of the environment. Americans endorse government programs to protect water and air from pollution.
The 2000 NEETF/Roper Survey evaluates public attitudes and knowledge on the environment and how these characteristics have changed over the past nine years. It is based on a nationally representative sample of 1,505 Americans, age 18 and older, surveyed by Roper Starch Worldwide in August 2000 by telephone.
Results can be projected to the total adult population of the continental United States who would be willing to be interviewed in a telephone study of this kind. The margin of error due to sampling is plus or minus two percentage points at the .95 confidence level, although it is larger for smaller subgroups of the public.
Download the full report (PDF).
Executive Summary
Americans Want Environmental Education for School Children
In the last three decades, many schools have incorporated the environment into their science curriculum. About one half of all schools offer some environmental education in the curriculum but usually just for a few hours a year. Support seems to be on the rise, however. For example, there is now an advanced placement course for environmental science in some high schools and a growing number of environment-based schools. Perhaps because they had few such classes themselves as students or perhaps because of the burgeoning interest in the environment society-wide, the vast majority of American adults view the study of the environment as a positive development. Fully 95% support the practice of teaching school children about the environment.
To investigate possible reasons for the public’s support of environmental education, the 2000 NEETF/Roper Survey added questions about the potential effects of environmental education on young people. A majority of Americans (57%) say that environmental education has “a great deal” of effect in preparing children to better understand environmental issues as adults. Another 31% say environmental education has “a moderate effect” on young people’s preparedness for understanding the environment as adults. This adds up to a total of 88% of Americans who find some benefits to environmental education. In addition, fully half of the American public believes that environmental education has a great deal of effect in teaching children to respect the people and places around them and in encouraging children to be involved in community service projects. (See Figure 1.)
Americans believe that environmental education should extend beyond the classroom and that an appreciation and understanding of the environment creates well-rounded children prepared to enter into and contribute to the larger society.
Environmental Education for Adults Is Strongly Supported
Importantly, Americans do not want environmental education to end with graduation. There is strong support for governmental and corporate involvement in environmental education for adults. In a new question on the 2000 NEETF/Roper Survey, Americans were asked whether the government should be involved in educating adults about environmental issues and problems. The vast majority of Americans (86%) agreed that government agencies should support such educational programs.
In addition, the public endorses the concept of turning to private companies to help solve environmental problems. Over 80% agree that “private companies should train their employees to solve environmental problems.” Americans appear to want environmental education on the national agenda, and want government agencies and corporate America to be involved in educating adults about the environment.
Americans Want Environmental Balance:
They See the Environment and the Economy as Interdependent
As in the previous eight years of this research, a majority of Americans say that environmental protection and economic development can go hand in hand. Of those surveyed, 63% agree with this option, rather than the alternative — that one must be chosen over the other (25%).
Americans say that a balance between the environment and the economy is required for prosperity. Fully 89% either strongly or mostly agree that “The condition of the environment will play an increasingly important role in the nation’s economic future.” Thus, Americans believe that environmental protection and economic development must be achieved together to ensure a vibrant nation. Still, when people are asked to choose between environmental protection and economic development, fully 71% say they would choose the environment. (See Figure 2.)
There is room for improvement in our efforts to protect the environment. Close to half (46%) of Americans hold the view that current laws “do not go far enough” to protect the environment. One-third (32%) hold the view that existing laws have struck “about the right balance,” while 15% contend that laws and regulations already “go too far.”
Two Out of Three Adult Americans Still Fail a Simple Environmental Quiz
When asked directly, most Americans (70%) say they know at least “a fair amount” about environmental issues and problems. However, when knowledge is measured via performance on a pre-tested environmental quiz (12 multiple choice questions about recent environmental topics), most Americans do not do so well. If the public were graded on the quiz, just one third (32%) would receive a passing grade of “C” or better (9 or more correct answers). Moreover, just one in ten adults (11%) in the U.S. would receive a grade of “A,” answering at least 11 of the 12 simple questions correctly. (See Figure 3.)
Because the quiz included in the 2000 NEETF/Roper Survey repeats the questions asked in the 1997 NEETF/Roper Survey, it is possible to analyze responses over time. Over the last three years, Americans seem to have learned little about the issues covered in the quiz, improving their score on only one question (the most common source of water pollution). On two questions — the largest source of carbon monoxide and the function of ozone — a lower proportion of respondents answered correctly in 2000 than in 1997.
While the reason for particular changes is not entirely clear, what is certain is that Americans need further education about the environment.
Engagement in Most Environmental Activities Is High, But May Be Falling
Asked how often they perform each of eight activities that benefit the environment, a majority of Americans perform four “frequently” (as opposed to “occasionally” or “never”). (See Figure 4.) As in the past, one of the simplest behaviors tops the list: 85% report that they frequently turn off lights and electrical appliances when not in use. Majorities also frequently try to conserve water, to reduce the amount of garbage they produce, and to recycle newspaper, cans, and glass.
The proportion of Americans saying they try to conserve water, reduce the amount of garbage they produce, purchase biodegradable products, or avoid using chemicals in their yard or garden is lower than in the past two years. It is difficult to say why Americans are less engaged in these activities, but one obvious tool to help reverse this trend is environmental education for adults.
Indeed, for several activities on the list there is a relationship between environmental knowledge and engaging in an activity. As overall knowledge increases (as measured by the number of correct answers to the quiz section), the likelihood of participating in several activities also increases. This trend is most evident for turning off lights when not in use, recycling newspapers, cans, and glass, and avoiding the use of chemicals in the yard. (See Figure 5.)
Clearly, knowledge of the environment has an effect on the likelihood of engaging in day-to-day activities that directly or indirectly benefit the environment. Increasing environmental knowledge for all Americans should increase individual involvement in environmental affairs.
Conclusions
For nine years, the NEETF/Roper Surveys have recorded American attitudes toward and knowledge of the environment. In the last few years, Americans appear to have settled into stable positions about environmental issues. For example, the proportion saying current regulations do not go far enough to protect the environment has been stable for four years, as has the proportion who believe that environmental protection is more important than economic development.
Just as environmental attitudes are relatively entrenched, so too is environmental knowledge, or the lack of it. Unfortunately, many Americans overestimate their knowledge of environmental issues and problems. And although their general support for the environment is strong, it may be their lack of knowledge on specific environmental topics — such as the leading causes of pollution or sources of energy — that are holding people back from taking effective actions to protect the environment.
Despite holding an overly rosy view of their own environmental knowledge, Americans are eager to support more education of the public on the environment. Over the last 20 years, environmental education has made significant inroads in elementary or secondary school curricula. However, the 2000 NEETF/Roper Survey finds that Americans favor environmental education for adults as well as for school children. The public wants both the government and private businesses to find ways to help adults learn more about the environment and how its problems might be resolved.
Americans are concerned about the environment, its protection, and how they can learn more about it. Now, opportunities must be created for the public to expand its environmental knowledge, leading not only to better-educated adults, but perhaps also to new perspectives and ideas for solving current environmental problems.
Recommendations for Combating Environmental Illiteracy
Working with colleague organizations, the Congress, and the Administration, NEETF recommends implementing a set of strategic programs for adult and youth environmental learning. The key to environmental learning is to influence the effectiveness of a few strategic public education sources — the Internet, schools, and the media. Other, less-commonly used resources, such as broadcast meteorology and training institutes for journalists, can also be helpful. Our recommendations include:
- Maximize the educational value of television by working to convert regular television weather reporting into environmental reporting. Support model programs that link educational television to educational programs on the Web. Test programs with educational television that make use of feature broadcasts in concert with Web-driven educational programs.
- Develop programs that facilitate the infusion of environmental education into school programs in science, reading, service learning, and after-school programming.
- Support improved environmental news coverage through training institutes and through associations with leading schools of journalism.
- Continue to measure and report on the extent and impact of the lack of adult environmental knowledge and report findings to leaders and decision-makers. Use such devices as:
- an annual index and rating system of the most “people-caused” environmental problems; and
- an annual assessment of the adult American “Environmental Quotient (EQ)” through such research efforts as the NEETF/ Roper Report Card on environmental attitudes, knowledge, and behavior.
- Develop a comprehensive Web Gateway for lifelong environmental learning. The gateway would collect comprehensive information on all facets of environmental education and training and serve as an entry point to other more detailed or technical sites and resources.
