I have a rather tough question. Do you know of any research studies
demonstrating that the study of Earth System Science at the college
level or above has  lead to a greater understanding of environmental
problems?

Which colleges teach courses by that name? Is it significantly
different than environmental education? It would be a very pathetic
course that would not lead to a greater understanding of the subject
matter of the course, by the persons who took the course. If you agree
there is a lot of disinformation, how can we measure greater
understanding? It would be helpful if you suggest some specific topics
such as radon, or upper atmosphere particulates.
 Perhaps you are asking if the 6 billion humans on our planet have
increased understanding of the environmement because a few thousand
college students took a course by that name: Likely the improvement is
too small to measure reliably.  Neil