The difference is even more dramatic when young people were asked which two or three of these issues they personally would most like to address: 39% of students from non-disadvantaged areas name the environment (2nd again behind only AIDS) compared to 23% of students from disadvantaged areas, placing it eighth, ahead of only illegal drugs and the number of parents getting divorced. In contrast, students from disadvantaged areas are more interested than their non-disadvantaged peers in wanting to help the homeless (37% vs. 31%) and crime and violence in their neighborhoods (27% vs. 21%).
Students today differentiate among the various environmental issues, considering some to be more serious than others. Damage to the ozone layer, air and water pollution, shortages of drinking water and hazardous waste lead the list of issues students consider to be the most serious problems. And generally, students from disadvantaged areas and non-disadvantaged have a similar perspective, seeing eye to eye on 13 of 19 environmental problems asked about. But, in several areas there are disparate attitudes between students in disadvantaged areas and students in non-disadvantaged areas. Destruction of the rainforest and too little recycling are greater concerns to non-disadvantaged students than among students from disadvantaged areas (by margins of 10 points and 6 points, respectively). On the other hand, shortages of good drinking water (6 points higher among students from disadvantaged areas), acid rain (+7 points), lead poisoning (+18 points) and not having enough energy (+13 points) are named by greater percentages of disadvantaged students.
It is from this examination of the environmental issues students consider "the most serious" that the cluster analysis is drawn. This statistical process produced five distinct groups of students. Group I focuses on issues that are immediate and local in nature: Air pollution; shortages of drinking water; shortages of energy. Group II considers just one issue serious: Shortages of good drinking water. Group III considers every environmental issue "one of the most serious," while Group IV is generally unconcerned about the environment and its problems. Finally, Group V focuses on the more long-term issues, such as destruction of the rainforest and endangered animals, plants, insects. (See Chapter I, Section C for greater detail.)
Why do students feel society should protect the environment? We asked about the environment, both in general, and specifically about reasons to protect water from pollution or reduce the amount of litter or garbage. For each of these issues, protection of human health is by far the most important reason, as it is among American adults. Seven in ten students from disadvantaged areas say this is the reason for protecting the environment in general, and the reason to protect water from pollution; a 54% majority also cite health as the number one reason for reducing litter. Students from non-disadvantaged areas hold the same perspective.
Lesser numbers want to protect the environment to help plants and animals, to keep the environment clean for future generations or for their immediate use and gratification. Here, however, the perspective of students from disadvantaged areas and those students from non-disadvantaged areas begins to diverge, with students from disadvantaged areas focusing more on what affects them personally, and students from non-disadvantaged areas focusing more on plants and wildlife. For example, 40% of students from disadvantaged areas feel water should be protected to protect plants and animals, compared to 51% of students from non-disadvantaged areas; likewise, 44% of students from non-disadvantaged areas feel that reducing litter will help protect plants and animals, compared to 35% of students from disadvantaged areas. In contrast, students from disadvantaged areas are more likely to cite protecting areas for use today as a reason for reducing litter (41% vs. 34%) and as a reason for protecting water from pollution (28% vs. 24%). Students from disadvantaged areas also cite protecting water-dependent industries more often than students from non-disadvantaged areas (16% vs. 10%). The differences can be traced to the focus of the environmental problems. In other words, the issues of greater concern to students from disadvantaged areas are more local and immediate in nature, whereas those generally of greater concern to students from non-disadvantaged areas are on a less immediate, perhaps more future scale.
When asked how much young people feel they are learning about the environment in school, students from disadvantaged areas are significantly more likely than those from non-disadvantaged areas to report learning either "a lot" or "a fair amount" on the subject (48% vs. 38%). Further, there is a clear correlation between the amount of learning in school reported by these students, and their self-reported knowledge about the environment, which also correlates with concern about and involvement with the environment. This may be an important result to focus on, an indication that school is evidently an effective way to reach, educate and motivate students from disadvantaged areas to work for the environment. However, this process should start early in school, as the survey suggests that learning about the environment in school decreases markedly with schooling, from 76% of 4th and 5th graders and 52% of 6th, 7th and 8th graders to 26% of 9th and 10th graders and 30% of 11th and 12th graders.
Students from disadvantaged areas were asked to name the various ways they have learned about the environment in school, as well as their opinion about the one most effective method. The vast majority say that a regular science class (73%) is one of the ways they have learned about the environment in school. Field trips to museums, parks or zoos place a distant second (44%), followed closely by "some other class such as English or Social Studies" (40%). These are also cited by students from disadvantaged areas as the three most effective ways (in the same rank order) to learn about the environment in school, with science class the clear leader. As with overall learning in school, use of several of these methods decreases with schooling. For example, going to an assembly about the environment falls from 36% in grades four and five to just 14% in grades eleven and twelve. Going on field trips and "some other class such as English or Social Studies" also follow this pattern.
Regardless of where they gather their knowledge of the environment, young people perceive themselves as better educated about some environmental issues than they are about others. When asked which of nineteen issues they feel they know the most about, air pollution, too little recycling, endangered plants, animals, insects and damage to the ozone layer top the list. Only two issues vary significantly among students from disadvantaged areas and students from non-disadvantaged areas: destruction of the rainforest (highest among students from non-disadvantaged areas at 33%, versus only 22% for students from non-disadvantaged areas) and shortages of good drinking water (highest among students from disadvantaged areas at 16% vs. 10% for students from non-disadvantaged areas). With regard to the issues they want to know more about, damage to the ozone layer, destruction of the rainforest, global warming and endangered plants, animals, insects top the list.
Among students from both disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged areas, there are several issues where interest in learning more far exceeds current knowledge, as well as some for which current knowledge far exceeds the desire to learn more. The latter issues appear to be those that are relatively "mature issues," meaning youth (and the public as a whole) have had the opportunity to become familiar with these topics. These include recycling, litter and air pollution.
For other issues, which may be characterized as "emerging issues" Ñ global warming, acid rain and destruction of wetlands Ñ the differences indicate that students want to know more than they know now. These issues, along with several which are high in both the current and desired knowledge (endangered plants, animals and insects, damage to the ozone layer, and destruction of the rainforest) are perhaps the ones where educators may wish to focus on when planning programs for educating young people about the environment if their interest and enthusiasm is to be maintained.
To further document the experiences and concerns students from disadvantaged areas have about water, these young people were asked whether they have or ever had reason to suspect a lack of good drinking water. Nearly half (44%) of disadvantaged students report that they have had problems with or suspicions of their supply of drinking water. The most often cited reasons for this suspicion are the taste of the water, the look of the water and the smell of the water.
TodayÕs young people apparently believe they can make a difference, a belief reflected in the high numbers who report taking various steps to aid the environment. Saving energy by turning off lights is the most practiced of ten listed activities that serve to benefit the environment among both disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students. Other actions taken by young people include returning bottles and cans to recycling centers, saving water or cutting down on littering. However, students from disadvantaged areas are significantly less likely than those from non-disadvantaged areas to engage in several activities, most notably returning bottles and cans to recycling centers (53% vs. 71%), which is consistent with their lower levels of concern about solid waste issues.
The preferred sources of environmental information are similar to those currently used: Television again tops the list, followed by school, going to museums or zoos, and the family. School (higher among students from disadvantaged areas) and museums and zoos (higher among students from non-disadvantaged areas) are the only preferred sources that differ significantly between these two groups. In fact, school as a preferred source of environmental information is highest among students from disadvantaged areas in grades 4 and 5 (60%) and lowest in grades 11 and 12 (47%), a trend also seen in participation in environmental groups Ñ decreasing dramatically from grades 4 and 5 to grades 11 and 12. By comparison, school as a preferred source for learning about the environment does not change by grade among students from non-disadvantaged areas.
An especially encouraging result of the research is the high level of interest young people express in wanting to work for a better natural environment. Two-thirds of students from both disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged areas say they would be either very or somewhat interested in working with others or joining a group or club to benefit the environment. Not only is the interest there, but many young people say it would not be too difficult to get involved: Six in ten students from disadvantaged areas and two thirds of students from non-disadvantaged areas feel it would be very easy or sort of easy for them to get involved in helping the environment.
Despite the high levels of interest in joining a group or club to work for the environment, just two in 10 report that they have joined groups or clubs, either at school or in the community, that actively work to improve the environment. However, this may reflect a lack of awareness more than a lack of interest, as only four in 10 students from either disadvantaged or non-disadvantaged areas are aware of environmental groups either at school or in the community. In other words, about half of those aware of such programs are involved, an indication that increased awareness may lead to increased involvement.
Tapping the zeal of those young people interested in working for the environment is key for the future of the environmental movement. Finding new avenues of involving young people, perhaps through the sources they use and prefer to use to learn about the environment, may be one route to take. Of a list of 15 specific activities to promote interest and increase participation in the environment, the most promising are going camping or hiking/spending more time closer to nature and winning coupons for things in exchange for cleaning up litter or recycling. Interest in most items is similar among students from disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged areas, with two exceptions: spending more time with nature in 11 percentage points lower among students from disadvantaged areas (47% vs. 58%), reflecting their relative lack of interest in the "plant and animal" aspect of environmental protection; and winning prizes for writing raps songs about the environment, which is 9 points higher among students from disadvantaged areas (21% vs. 12%).