What do people know about key environmental issues? A review of environmental knowledge surveys

Abstract

This paper presents results from 15 little publicized state and national environmental surveys in the US that used similar questions. Our analysis reveals trends in adult understanding of environmental issues. These trends indicate that many may have difficulty making informed decisions about environmental policy as citizens, voters, and consumers. Some environmental myths are still prevalent in the US public’s understanding of environmental issues. The authors compare data from the National Environmental Education Foundation survey in the US and data from state surveys using the same questions to examine how public knowledge has changed from 1995 to 2008. Environmental myths and how they may affect the public’s perception of environmental topics are discussed. The authors suggest the need for greater consistency in the surveys of environmental knowledge to allow comparison among different studies.

Keywords:

• environmental knowledge
• environmental surveys
• environmental education
• climate change
• water quality

Acknowledgments

Thank you to all survey respondents who took time to answer questions about environmental knowledge. Special thanks to Dr Ron Langley, Director of the Survey Research Centre at the University of Kentucky, who provided additional details about the methodology of the Kentucky Surveys. Thanks to Marian Langan, Director of the Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center for providing the Nebraska Alliance for Conservation and Environmental Education survey data for us to analyze by gender.

Notes

aNEEF 2001.

bNEEF 1999a.

cNEEF 2002.

dResponses did not include “don’t know” as an option.

e“In Minnesota” added to question.

fWording change.

gOption added “don’t believe in climate change”.