Environmental Trivial Pursuit
Answers are in bold.
Our "ecological footprint" is a metaphor used to depict the amount of
land and water area a human population would hypothetically
need to provide the resources required to support itself and to
absorb its wastes, given prevailing technology.
1.
What is the ecological footprint of the average person living in
India?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
2.
0.1 acres
1 acre
3.5 acres
12.2 acres
25 acres
What is the ecological footprint of the average person living in
North America?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
0.1 acres
1 acre
3.5 acres
12.2 acres
25 acres
3.
If all humans were to live as North Americans do, how
many planet Earths would it take to sustain them?
a.
b.
c.
d.
0.5
1
3
5
A renewable resource is any natural resource that is
depleted at a rate slower than the rate at which it
regenerates. A resource must have a way of
regenerating itself in order to qualify as renewable.
Timber, water, vegetation are examles.
A non-renewable resource is a natural resource that cannot
be re-made or re-grown. Often fossil fuels, such as
coal, petroleum and natural gas are considered nonrenewable resources, as they do not naturally re-form
at a rate that makes the way we use them sustainable.
4.
What poses the greatest challenge to humanity?
a.
b.
Depletion of non-renewable resources
Depletion of renewable resources
An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing
permeable rock or unconsolidated materials (gravel,
sand, silt, or clay) from which groundwater can be
usefully extracted using a water well.
5.
What is the largest aquifer in the US?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Edwards Aquifer
Floridan Aquifer
Mahomet Aquifer
Ogallala Aquifer
The Ogallala Aquifer, also known as the High Plains
Aquifer, is a vast yet shallow underground water table
aquifer located beneath the Great Plains in the United
States. One of the world's largest aquifers, it lies under
about 174,000 mi² (450,000 km²) in portions of the eight
states of South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado,
Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas. The aquifer
was first tapped for irrigation in 1911. Large scale use for
irrigation began in the 1930s and continued through the
1950s, due to the availability of electric power to rural
farming communities and the development of cheap and
efficient electric turbine pumps. It was only after World
War II that affordable technology became available to
substantially extract water. This transformed the High
Plains into one of the most agriculturally productive
regions in the world.
6. At the current rates of water extraction, the
Ogallala aquifer is estimated to be
a.
b.
c.
d.
Sustainable
Unsustainable, will dry out in 500 years
Unsustainable, will dry out in 200-300 years
Unsustainable, will dry out in 40-50 years
7. How many liters of additional water are used in
bottling plants to make 1 liter of Coca Cola?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
0.2 liters
0.8 liters
1.6 liters
2 liters
5 liters
8. How many liters of water are used in the Coca
Cola supply chain to make 1 liter of Coca Cola?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
5 liters
10 liters
50 liters
100 liters
More than 150 liters
9. How many pounds of resources does the
average American consumer per week?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
55
72
100
136
199
10. How many pounds of waste are created in the
processes that support this consumption?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
100
500
1000
2000
5000