Carbon Literacy Quiz

Global warming is primarily caused by

1. Natural climate variations
2. Sunspots
3. Volcanoes
4. Cows’ flatulence
5. Human-caused greenhouse gases acting like one-way�mirrors and trapping heat from the sun

Annual human-caused global greenhouse gas (GHG)�emissions now stand at

1. 5.9 million tons
2. 59 million tons
3. 590 million tons
4. 5.9 billion tons
5. 59 billion tons
6. Humans do not cause GHG emissions

Courtesy CAIT Climate Data Explorer via. Climate Watch

Carbon dioxide concentration in our atmosphere�is currently

1. 4.19 parts per million
2. 41.9 parts per million
3. 419 parts per million
4. 4,190 parts per million
5. There is no CO₂ in our�atmosphere

The average annual carbon impact (in metric tons of CO₂e) per American is:

1. 6 metric tons
2. 17 metric tons
3. 600 metric tons
4. Negligible

The number of fully-grown trees needed to offset one American’s annual�emissions is:

1. 1 tree for 92 people
2. 1 tree per person
3. 92 trees per person
4. 920 trees per person
5. 9,200 trees per person

The most credible scientific authority on climate change is

1. The International Energy Agency (IEA)
2. The U.S. Department of Energy
3. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
4. The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
5. Your local Political Action Committee
6. CNN
7. Fox News
8. Bloomberg

In how many days do we cause emissions equal to our�own body weight on average?

1. Every hour
2. Less than 2 days
3. About 1 month
4. About 1 year
5. A lifetime

CO₂e

180 lb.

According to the IPCC*, I should reduce my carbon impact in half by

1. 2025
2. 2030
3. 2035
4. 2040
5. 2050
6. 2100

*United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Worldwide annual subsidies for the fossil fuel industry total

1. $10M per year
2. $10M per month
3. $10M per week
4. $10M per day
5. $10M per hour
6. $10M per minute
7. $10M per second

Courtesy International Monetary Fund, Coady, Parry, Sears and Shang, May 2015

In Bedford, the average daily carbon emissions total to

1. 2.11 ton of CO₂e
2. 21.1 tons of CO₂e
3. 211 tons of CO₂e
4. 2,110 tons of CO₂e
5. 21,100 tons of CO₂e

How big a mature forest is required to offset Bedford’s CO₂ emissions?

1. 1/100 of Bedford’s area
2. 1/10 of Bedford’s area
3. All of Bedford’s area
4. Double Bedford’s area
5. 10x Bedford’s area

In Bedford, the highest contribution of emissions comes from

1. Transportation
2. Heating
3. Electricity
4. Goods and services
5. Food and waste
6. Public services
7. Livestock

In Bedford, an average savings of ~11 tons of CO₂e is achieved by

1. Switching to EVs
2. Heating your house with heat pumps
3. Grazing goats in your lawn
4. Signing up for an energy audit
5. Planting 100 trees
6. Recycling
7. Turning vegan

Electric vehicles in Bedford that run on “dirty” grid electricity are

1. Good for the environment because they are 3 to 4 times more efficient than a gas vehicle
2. Bad for the environment because the energy source is dirty
3. Bad for the environment because of the materials in the batteries
4. Good for the environment because they are fun to drive

Regenerative braking is

1. A way of breaking coconuts
2. How EVs recapture energy for the battery while slowing down the vehicle
3. Slowing down birth rates of deer
4. A way of making vehicles without brakes

Bedford schools should move to a fully�electric bus fleet because

1. It achieves significant carbon reduction
2. It is better for particulate pollution
3. It is better for kids’ health
4. It will save us money over the�lifetime of the bus
5. The community wants it
6. All of the above!

The fastest way to decarbonize our school�fleet is to electrify the big buses first

1. True
2. Usually not the case

How many EVs are registered in zip 10506?

1. 28,800
2. 2,880
3. 288
4. 28
5. None

Natural gas’s impact on climate change is

1. Helpful, because it burns cleaner than coal
2. Helpful, because the natural gas industry is very concerned about climate change
3. Helpful, because it keeps energy prices low
4. Helpful, because it is extracted cleanly
5. Harmful, because although it burns cleaner than coal or oil, even a small amount of unburned methane leakage negates the benefits

The energy source for heat pumps that can efficiently heat and cool your home is

1. Electricity
2. Gas
3. Diesel
4. Propane
5. Coal
6. Flowing water
7. Goat poop
8. Heat pumps do not require an energy source

The annual carbon impact of one red meat eater converting to vegan is

1. +1 ton of CO₂e
2. +0.1 tons of CO₂e
3. –0.1 tons of CO₂e
4. –0.2 tons of CO₂e
5. –1.8 tons of CO₂e
6. –20 tons of CO₂e

Which of the following did António Guterres, UN Secretary General, NOT say?

1. We are using the atmosphere like an open sewer
2. The climate crisis is a code red for humanity
3. The climate time bomb is ticking
4. Our world needs climate action on all fronts: everything, everywhere, all at once!
5. Humanity is on thin ice and that ice is melting fast
6. We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator

Which President signed a “one trillion trees” executive order?

1. Teddy Roosevelt
2. Franklin Roosevelt
3. Jimmy Carter
4. Barack Obama
5. Donald Trump
6. Joe Biden

The earth has warmed 1.1^oC so far. How much�have land and oceans warmed?

1. Land = 1.1^oC, oceans = 1.1^oC
2. Land = 0.9^oC, oceans = 1.2^oC
3. Land = 0^oC, oceans = 2^oC
4. Land = 2^oC, oceans = 0^oC
5. Land = 1.6^oC, oceans = 0.9^oC

Emissions reductions this decade will largely determine if warming can be limited to 1.5^oC or 2^oC

1. True
2. False

Sustained warming of 2^oC to 3^oC will cause complete and irreversible loss of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, resulting in 2 to 6 m (7 to 20’) of sea-level rise

1. True
2. False