Monday, April 27, 2009

... Next Project ...

Sorry, internet was on the fritz last night. Our next project is escort cards! We started folding envelopes last night. I'll share pictures tonight.

Wade's bachelor week-end went well. He came back tired, but not too tired to avoid housework. (Wade does the laundry on Sundays, and does not like it when I do the laundry ... because I don't fold socks "right".)

For your pleasure, here's the Earth Week quiz I promised last week:


2009 Earth Week Quiz

1. What percentage of the world’s total water supply is fresh, accessible water?
a) Less than 1%

b) 5%
c) 15%
d) 25%

2. Ozone in the earth’s upper atmosphere forms a layer, but at ground level it is a primary component of:
a) Car exhaust
b) Dew and fog

c) Smog
d) Ozone doesn’t exist at ground-level

3. What can you do to improve the efficiency of your furnace?
a) Change the filters every two months
b) Replace your furnace if it's old

c) Install a programmable thermostat
d) a, b, and c are all correct

4. Which action has the greatest impact on reducing the threat of global warming?
a) Recycling
b) Reducing your energy use

c) Composting
d) Planting a tree every year

5. Which of the following produces the most oxygen?
a) Algae and archaea –microscopic ocean organisms, which are vulnerable to even tiny changes in the ocean temperature or current
b) Rainforests, which contain 82% of the world’s known biodiversity

c) Coniferous trees, such as pine, spruce and cedar, which continue to produce small amounts of oxygen in the winter
d) Deciduous trees, such as maple and oak, which produce oxygen in the summer

6. Growing trees captures carbon dioxide from the air and release oxygen. True or False

7. When trees are harvested (cut down or die), carbon stored in the tree is released back to the environment. True or False

8. How much could annual energy costs drop nationally if every Canadian household replaced one 60W incandescent bulb with a 20W compact-fluorescent bulb? (For example, you change your outdoor porch light to a compact-fluorescent bulb.)
a) $53 million
b) $63 million

c) $73 million
d) $73 thousand

(Our population is ~30 million, so multiply these numbers by "10" to get the American estimate - enery costs are similar so it'll be close. Note: you can't really multiply by "2" to get the British equivalent, because your energy costs are generally higher. Maybe multiply by "4" - that's my best guess!)

9. The biggest cause of tropical deforestation worldwide is:
a) Pollution
b) Wildfire

c) Clearing of lands for agricultural use
d) Natural extinction

10. The average NHL (National Hockey League) player generates how much pollution as a result of travelling with his team?
a) Ten tonnes of carbon per person
b) One tonne of carbon per team

c) Half a tonne of carbon per person
d) Ten kilograms of carbon per team

11. What is a carbon footprint?
a) The total volume of garbage created by your household
b) The total set of greenhouse gas emissions you create, both directly and indirectly

c) The total volume of recycling diverted from landfill by recycling
d) The total volume of compost diverted from landfill by your household composting bin

12. Which form of transportation creates the biggest carbon footprint, mile for mile (or km for km)?
a) Planes
b) Trains

c) Automobiles
d) Walking

13. If you merged all the cracks, gaps and unsealed openings in an average home, how big would the resulting "hole" be?
a) 14.3 square feet
b) 2.3 square feet

c) 1.2 square feet
d) 0.5 square feet

14. If a leaky faucet drips one drop per second, how much water will be wasted each year?
a) Just over 1 L (1000 mL or 4 cups)
b) Just over 10 mL (2 tsp)

c) Just over 100 L
d) Just over 1,000 L

15. If you must water your lawn, how should you water it?
a) In the morning, with a rotary sprinkler
b) In the evening, with a garden hose

c) In the afternoon, using a garden hose
d) You should not water your lawn

16. What kind of bake ware is the most energy efficient?
a) Metal
b) Silicone

c) Glass
d) Ceramic

17. What accounts for the most energy consumption in the average home?
a) Hot water
b) Heating and cooling

c) Lighting
d) Appliances

18. Approximately how many plastic bags do consumers worldwide go through in a year?
a) Approximately 1 million
b) Just less than 100 million

c) Approximately 100 billion
d) More than 500 billion

19. The average plastic grocery bag is biodegradable. True or False


If you're brave, put your answers in the comments! :)

4 comments:

Rachel said...

1.b
2.d
3.d
4.b
5.a
6.true
7. chopping it down doesn't alter the state of the tree; burning it would.
8. it would depend on the starting figure but it would drop by 1/3
9.c
10.a
11.b
12.c
13.c
14.d
15. b/a evening with a sprinkler
16.b
17.b
18.c
19. in England yes, especially if you shop in Marks & Spencers.

Anonymous said...

1. a - according to a Canadian NFP, anyway. Most water is in the oceans (not considered "freshwater") or locked in glaciers / ice caps, or in underground reservoirs we don't have the ability to tap into.

2. c. Ozone doesn't usually exist at ground level. Sometimes, though it does, and when it does, it can combine with SOx and NOx to form smog. Yuck!

3. d - good job, Rachel!

4. b - good job again!

5. a - good job again!

6. True - right again!

7. Carbon stored in trees is often converted to paper. When it's paper, the paper is often throw out (instead of recycled), which returns carbon to the environment within a couple years of being chopped down. So the answer is "true" and "false" at the same time.

8. The question is if everyone switches just 1 regular bulb for a CFE, and the answer (according to the David Suzuki Foundation) is c.

9. c - another right answer!

10. a - did you google the answer or guess? :)

11. b - right again!

12. a: kilometre for kilmoetre (or mile for mile) planes generate far more pollution than driving. There are more drivers, which means there is more TOTAL GHG. But mile for mile, the answer is planes.

13. b - according to the David Suzuki Foundation

14. d - right again!

15. a - the literature I read indicated that if you MUST water your lawn (and it's best if you don't, obviously), you should water it in the morning with a sprinkler. The sprinkler creates small droplets that can be better absorbed. In the afternoon and evening, it can be too warm, and the water just evaporates, but in the morning, the absorption will be best.

16. b is best (silicone) followed by c (glass) for efficiency - good job!

17. b - heating & cooling - right again!

18. It's actually d: 500 billion to 1 trillion bags are estimated to be used every year around the world.

19. Wow - they're biodegradable? Our plastic bags - whether from the grocery store, Walmart (asda), or department store are typically not biodegrabale. :)

Krista said...

Oh, anonymous is me, in case you couldn't tell

Rachel said...

I didn't google the hockey team answer but my sister told me that the average household uses 14.5 tonnes and I figured they do a lot of travelling.

re:19 most clothes shops now hand out paper bags (except Gap, bizarrely) and a lot of shops hand out 'plastic' bags made from Corn Starch. We also get charged for plastic bags here from most large supermarkets and there is a big drive for people to carry their own jute or cotton bags.