In 1944, noted conservationist Aldo Leopold wrote: "Acts of conservation without the requisite desires and skill are futile. To create these desires and skills, and the community motive, is the task of education." Almost sixty years later, in January 2003, the National Science Foundation released a report of its Advisory Committee for Environmental Research and Education. The Committee found that "in the coming decades, the public will more frequently be called upon to understand complex environmental issues, assess risk, evaluate proposed environmental plans and understand how individual decisions affect the environment at local and global scales." The Committee called for the creation of a scientifically informed citizenry and pointed out that this will require a "concerted and systematic approach to environmental education grounded in a broad and deep research base that offers a compelling invitation to lifelong learning." Now in 2005, Environmental Literacy in America offers an assessment of environmental literacy in America that is both sobering and hopeful. This summary of almost a decade of NEETF collaboration with Roper Reports provides a loud wake-up call to the environmental education community, to community leaders, and to influential specialists ranging from physicians to weathercasters. At a time when Americans are confronted with increasingly challenging environmental choices, individuals learn that the citizenry is by and large both uninformed and misinformed. This report offers a wealth of data and analysis accompanied by recommendations intended for environmental educators, non-governmental organization (NGO) leaders, funders, public decision makers, and professionals who are daily affected by environmental issues. It emphasizes the need for more research, clearer benchmarks to demonstrate impact, and far greater coordination. Appended are: (1) Sample Roper Questionnaire; (2) Roper Methodology; (3) Report Bibliography; (4) Bibliography of Needs Assessments and Status Reports in EE [environmental education]; (5) Selected Bibliography of Research Collections and Reviews; and (6) Related NEETF/Roper Data Trends. (Contains 45 figures.)