UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES, A QUANTITATIVE STUDY TO FOSTER STUDENT UNDERSTANDING AND ACTION DEALING WITH ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

It is increasingly clear that society today is faced with a growing number of environmental problems and issues concerning waste disposal, water quality, air pollution, loss of habitat, deforestation, poor agricultural and fishing practices, chemical toxins, etc. Yet how effective is the scientific community at transmitting these messages to the general student population? Are there better methods available to convey this information to students as individuals and to an entire class? This study looks at how environmental issues are presented to students at an introductory college level and uses quantitative means to evaluate the degrees of success at broadcasting this data to them. We sampled a socio-economically and ethnically diverse student body on their views on the environment, their awareness of environmental issues, and problems dealing with pollution. We then analyzed the results using MINITAB 14.1. We found that although student interest in environmental issues is high, the current means of teaching and transmitting this information is of limited effectiveness. This hinders any change in the personal habits of students concerning a diverse array of issues such as vehicle preference, recycling, etc. In addition, lack of understanding of environmental issues limits the ability of governmental and/or environmental groups, and the scientific community as a whole, to deal with these necessary problems. We then offer suggestions for new approaches to pass this information onto students both inside and outside the classroom setting. Opportunities exist through popular, web sites such as YouTube, GoogleEarth, and MySpace to facilitate and encourage student learning and involvement in environmental issues in the future.