Investigating and Comparing Environmental Knowledge and Sustainable Behavior Among U.S. and Taiwanese Students

The objective of this study is to compare environmental knowledge and behavior of US and Taiwanese university students and suggesting recommendations to promote sustainability. The two countries were selected based on the contrasting geography between Taiwan, an island state, and the US, a continental state. Such geographic differences may be influential in terms of environmental knowledge and behavior. Surveys were administered in the US and Taiwan, and data were based on representative student samples studying in college and university in the two countries. In all, 771 students participated (654 and 117 from Taiwan and the US, respectively). Environmental behavior was investigated qualitatively. Factor analysis and multivariate analysis of variance were conducted to determine potential differences in knowledge and behavior between the US and Taiwan. Qualitative analysis demonstrated that Taiwanese students were more familiar with ocean ecology and plastic product reduction, whereas US students paid greater attention to meat consumption and energy waste via private transportation. Findings in this study revealed strong pro-environment perceptions among the youth differentiated by nationality. Educational recommendations were provided based on the study findings.