From students’ climate change concerns to their sustainable lifestyle choices, here are this week’s top college student insights.
Climate Change
As extreme weather disasters batter communities across the globe, a College Pulse survey of 510 undergraduates finds that almost 6 in 10 (57%) are very concerned about climate change. About one-quarter (27%) of students are somewhat concerned, and just 15% are either not very or not at all concerned. While female students are more likely than male students to say they are very concerned about the environment (66% vs. 45%), there’s a much larger divide across political lines. More than 8 in 10 (84%) college Democrats say they are very concerned about the planet’s rising temperatures, compared to just 7% of college Republicans.
Students are similarly divided on the government’s climate change response. Democrats almost unanimously (96%) say the government is doing too little to reduce the effects of climate change, compared to 39% of Republicans. Overall, 8 in 10 (80%) students say the government is not doing enough to combat global warming.
When it comes to what students are personally doing to reduce their carbon footprint, small changes such as turning off lights when they’re not in use (43%) and recycling paper, plastic, and glass (40%) are most common. One-quarter (25%) of students say they have stopped using plastic water bottles. About 1 in 5 have either started eating less meat or stopped eating meat altogether (21%), as well as walk, bike, or take public transportation when possible (21%).
Do you do any of the following to reduce your carbon footprint?
Female students are twice as likely as male students to say they shop for second-hand or vintage clothing (29% vs. 14%), and are slightly more likely to say they’ve reduced their meat consumption (23% vs. 16%). Democrats are also twice as likely as Republicans to shop second-hand (25% vs. 13%), but are five times more likely to say they eat less or no meat (31% vs. 6%).
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Methodology: All surveys were designed and conducted by College Pulse. Interviews were conducted among a sample of full-time and part-time students attending colleges or universities in the U.S. who are part of College Pulse’s American College Student Panel.
