Test your environmental awareness—a fun quiz

How much do you know about the environment? Want to compare yourself to the “average American?” Take this simple quiz developed by the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation and find out how you stack up nationally (answers follow). If you want a more detailed analysis of your results, or have questions about the quiz, email Qamar.Schuyler@crm.gov.mp.

1. There are many different kinds of animals and plants, and they live in many different types of environments. What is the word used to describe this idea?
a. Multiplicity
b. Biodiversity
c. Socio-economics
d. Evolution
e. Don’t know

2. Carbon monoxide is a major contributor to air pollution in the US. Which of the following is the biggest source of carbon monoxide?
a. Factories and businesses
b. People breathing
c. Motor vehicles
d. Trees
e. Don’t know

3. How is most of the electricity in the United States generated?
a. By burning oil, coal, and wood
b. With nuclear power
c. Through solar energy
d. At hydroelectric power plants
e. Don’t know

4. What is the most common cause of pollution of streams, rivers, and oceans?
a. Dumping of garbage by cities
b. Surface water running off yards, city streets, paved lots, and farm fields
c. Trash washed into the ocean from beaches
d. Waste dumped by factories
e. Don’t know

5. Which of the following is a renewable resource?
a. Oil
b. Iron ore
c. Trees
d. Coal
e. Don’t know

6. Ozone forms a protective layer in the earth’s upper atmosphere. What does ozone protect us from?
a. Acid rain
b. Global warming
c. Sudden changes in temperature
d. Harmful, cancer-causing sunlight
e. Don’t know

7. Where does most of the garbage in the US end up? Is it in…
a. Oceans
b. Incinerators
c. Recycling centers
d. Landfills
e. Don’t know

8. What is the name of the primary federal agency that works to protect the environment?
a. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
b. Department of Health, Environment, and Safety (DHES)
c. National Environmental Agency (NEA)
d. Federal Pollution Control Agency (FPCA)
e. Don’t know

9. Which of the following household wastes is considered hazardous waste?
a. Plastic packaging
b. Glass
c. Batteries
d. Spoiled food
e. Don’t know

10. What is the most common reason that an animal becomes extinct? Is it because…
a. Pesticides are killing them
b. Their habitats are being destroyed by humans
c. There is too much hunting
d. There are climate changes that affect them
e. Don’t know

11. Scientists have not determined the best solution for disposing of nuclear waste. In the US, what is done with it now? Do we…
a. Use it as nuclear fuel
b. Sell it to other countries
c. Dump it in landfills
d. Store and monitor the waste
e. Don’t know

12. What is the primary benefit of wetlands? Do they…
a. Promote flooding
b. Help clean the water before it enters lakes, streams, rivers, or oceans
c. Help keep the number of undesirable plants and animals low
d. Provide good sites for landfills
e. Don’t know

Answers: 1) b 2) c 3) a 4) b 5) c 6) d 7) d 8) a 9) c 10) b 11) d 12) b

If you got 11 or 12 correct, congratulations! You got an A!
If you got 10 correct, you got a B. Good job.
If you got 9 correct, you got a C. Not bad, you still passed.
If you got less than 9 correct, you didn’t pass. You are in good company, though, with 2/3 of American adults who took the test. My suggestion? Keep reading this column to increase your environmental knowledge.