Sample Quiz Question for Week #12AB
Environmental Studies 126
Integrated Liberal Studies 126
The questions for this week will come from lectures 12A and 12B, and from your laboratory
activity this week (Carbon footprints at Ginger Root – Part 2).
1. Using density, explain why the fat from the French fries and the hamburger floats on
water.
2. French fries contain no meat. Is it necessarily healthier to pass on the meat?
3. TED TALK: What’s wrong with what we eat, Mark Bittman
a. Bittman claims: “Livestock is also one of the biggest culprits in land degradation, air
and water pollution, water shortages and loss of biodiversity.” Using data, support or
refute this statement.
b. Bittman claims: “After energy production, livestock is the second-highest contributor
to atmosphere-altering gases.” Assuming that he means greenhouse gases, use
data to support or refute this statement.
c. Bittman claims: “Methane is 20x more poisonous than CO2, and it’s not just methane.”
- In which sense is breathing methane poisonous?
- In which sense is methane 20x more poisonous than CO2?
- It’s not just methane. What else is he referring to?
d. What do meat and junk food have in common? Bittman names three thinks. Name
any two of these.
e. OK, on the pie chart (courtesy of the EPA), what
is the highest contributor to greenhouse gases?
Next highest?
From your laboratory activities this week, pay particular attention to these questions:
Clicker question
Interpreting Evidence
Part I – LCA#1
2. What assumptions go into this Calculator? Fortunately for you, the answer to this
question is right on the website. Look under FAQs, question #5. Before you do, answer
these two questions to refresh your memory on methane.
Give the chemical formula of methane: ___________
As a greenhouse gas, methane is _________ potent than carbon dioxide.
(more, less)
a. For food waste disposal, this calculator assumes that the food went to an anaerobic
landfill.
What does anaerobic mean? ____________________
If the landfill were aerobic, this carbon-containing compound would be produced instead
of methane: ______________
b. FAQ #5 reports “If you are composting all of your food waste, you can set the waste
percentage to zero to get a close approximation of the overall impact of waste disposal.”
This actually is not true. Explain why.
Interpreting Evidence
Part II – LCA#2
2. Here is a screenshot from CHEFS. It shows the CO2e
emissions for 1 pound of frozen chicken transported from 1000
miles away. The pie chart shows Transportation accounts for
98.6% and Agriculture accounts for 1% of total CO2e emissions.
Why might you be skeptical of this result?
Reflecting on the Investigations
All of the questions in this section