Earth Day 2021 Quiz
Earth Day 2021 Quiz (April 22, 2021)
Answers will be forthcoming today or tomorrow.
1. Plastics. Approximately what % of the US’s
plastic gets recycled?
a. 8-10%
b. 14-15%
c. 25-30%
d. 45-50%
2. Plastics. Approximately what % of the US’s
plastic makes its way into lakes, rivers, oceans?
a. 0.5%
b. 1%
c. 3%
d. 5%
3. Plastic in the environment (on land or in
ocean). About how many years does it take to decompose a plastic bottle in the
ocean?
a. Plastic decomposes in about 20 years.
b. Plastic decomposes in about 50 years.
c. Plastic decomposes in about 150 years.
d. Plastic doesn’t really decompose, but let’s
go with 450 years.
4. Plastic in the oceans. Approximately how many
years before the plastic in the oceans will exceed the fish? (by weight).
a. Too last, plastic already exceeds fish in
oceans (by weight).b. 2030. In 10 years, plastic should exceed fish
(by weight).c. 2050. In 30 years, plastic should exceed fish
(by weight).d. 2100. In 80 years, plastic should exceed fish
(by weight).
5. Manatees in Florida are dying at an unusually
high rate recently. What is the primary cause of deaths in 2021?
a. Boats
b. Cold
c. Disease
d. Starvation
6. The artic is melting enough that ships can
now travel through the Arctic to the North during the summer and avoid the
Panama Canal or longer routes? Approximately how long during the summer can
ships now navigate through the Arctic?
a) About 4 weeks of thaw sufficient to
navigate in the summer.b) About 8 weeks of thaw sufficient to
navigate in the summer.c) About 3 months of thaw sufficient to
navigate in the summer.d) About 365 days a year.
7. About, what percentage of the US lakes,
rivers and streams are polluted (according to US EPA)? (Polluted, as in no swimming and you should
not eat the fish, if there are any.)
a. 4%-5%
b. 10%-15%
c. 25%-30%
d. 40%-45%
8. Soil. The current “industrial” farming
methods deplete the topsoil. No topsoil, little or no farm crops. At the
current rate of topsoil depletion, how many years do we have before we “run
out” of topsoil? [Ooops…. Things changed… problems with this question… Well, with the answers…]
a. About 20 years until the world’s topsoil will
be effectively depleted.b. About 30 years until the world’s topsoil will
be effectively depleted.c. About 60 years until the world’s topsoil will
be effectively depleted.d. About 100 years until the world’s topsoil
will be effectively depleted.
9. Extinction. Out of about 8 million plant and
animal species on earth, approximately how many are in threat of extinction?
a. 100K, 1.2%
b. 300K, 3.7%
c. 500K, 6.2%
d. 1M, 12.5%
10. Earths. Current estimates are that we
significantly overuse the earth’s resources (overshoot the earth’s carrying
capacity). We currently need part of another earth to be “sustainable”. But, if
the rest of the world consumed at the same rate per person as we do in the US,
how many earths do we need?
a. 2 earths (+1)
b. 3 earths (+2)
c. 4 earths (+3)
d. 5 earths (+4)
11. What is the depth of the oceans? (Plus, water
expands when warmed about 0.000214 per +1C for seawater, so how much would sea
levels rise based on a +1 degree Centigrade increase in global temperature that
transferred throughout the oceans.)
a. Average ocean depth is 1,000ft (+1C temp
increase = +2.6in increase in avg ocean level.)b. Average ocean depth is 2,500ft (+1C temp
increase = +6.4in increase in avg ocean level.)c. Average ocean depth is 1.2 mile (+1C temp
increase = +16.3in in increase avg ocean level.)d. Average ocean depth is 2.3 miles (+1C temp
increase = +31.2in increase in avg ocean level.)
