Biodiversity & Sustainability
Fact Sheet Reading and Questions
Environmental Footprint
Describe how American’s consumption of food has changed. Provide examples.
In 2005, what was the largest draw on the water supply?
In the average American household, what is the largest use of water per person?
If the average family is four people, how much water is being used on a daily basis? Convert
this to litres (1 gallon = 3.78 litres).
5. How does the amount of municipal solid waste compare between Canada and the U.S.?
6. How has the amount of waste that is being diverted from landfills (in terms of recycling or
compost) changed since 1990?
7. How can residential or commercial buildings increase their energy savings?
8. How does the number of licensed drivers and number of vehicles compare in the United
States? What does this imply?
9. Compare the population of America and its total energy use. What does this tell us?
10. What is the largest creator of greenhouse gases?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Biodiversity
An endemic species is a species that is
found in a specific geographic location,
such as an island, nation or other defined
zone, or habitat type; organisms that
are indigenous to a place are not endemic
to it if they are also found elsewhere
1. Compare the number of species we know about
and the number of species that are estimated to
be on the planet?
2. What is a biodiversity hot spot?
3. Describe what “loss of biodiversity is” and what
some factors are that lead to a loss of biodiversity.
4. What are the implications of a “loss of biodiversity”?
5. Describe actions that can be taken to make biodiversity sustainable.
Carbon Footprint
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Describe what a carbon footprint is in your own words.
What type of food gives off the greatest amount of greenhouse gases? Why?
Describe how a person could reduce their carbon footprint by what they eat.
In an American home, what accounts for the largest amount of energy used? Why?
Personal transportation is the largest contributor to CO2 emissions. Describe why.
Describe (from an overall perspective) how your carbon footprint can be reduced.
Based on what you read, how are biodiversity and sustainability related to each other?