1.
The average U.S. home can accumulate how many pounds of hazardous waste in one year?
Correct Answer
C. 100 pounds
Explanation
The answer is c.
The average home can accumulate as much as 100 pounds of household hazardous waste in the basement or garage and in storage closets in one year. When improperly disposed of, household hazardous waste can create a potential risk to people and the environment. Because of the potential risks associated with household hazardous wastes, it is important that people always use, store, and dispose of materials containing hazardous substances safely.
2.
How many tons of road salts are used each year in the United States?
Correct Answer
C. 11,000,000
Explanation
The answer is c.
More than 11 million tons of salt are applied to roads in the Unites States annually. As ice and snow melt, or rain falls, the salt is washed into the surrounding soil. Salt also enters ground water from improperly protected storage stockpiles.
3.
In the case of oil or chemical spill, who you gonna call?
Correct Answer
C. The national response center
Explanation
The answer is c.
To report an oil or chemical spill, call 1-800-424-8802. An environmental emergency is a sudden threat to the public health, or the well-being of the environment, from the release or potential release of oil, radioactive materials, or hazardous chemicals. Environmental emergencies may happen from transportation accidents, events at chemical or other facilities using or manufacturing chemicals, or as a result of natural or man-made disasters. They can be large spills in the ocean or small spills along a neighborhood street. While there are many serious environmental problems EPA is concerned with, an emergency response generally focuses on a sudden, immediate threat.
4.
True or False: Errosion is very closely related to the continuous removal of trees.
Correct Answer
B. False
Explanation
False. Water is the most important erosional agent and erodes most commonly as running water in streams. However, water in all its forms is erosional. Raindrops (especially in dry environments) create splash erosion that moves tiny particles of soil. Water collecting on the surface of the soil collects as it moves towards tiny rivulets and streams and creates sheet erosion.
5.
Who organized the first Earth Day?
Correct Answer
B. Gaylord Nelson
Explanation
The answer is b.
Gaylord Nelson (1916-2005), Wisconsin governor and U.S. Senator, is considered to be the father of the first Earth Day (held on April 22, 1970). In 1995, Senator Nelson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his efforts to inspire Americans about the importance and urgency of environmental protection.
6.
What's not safe to throw out in your trash?
Correct Answer
D. Household hazardous waste
Explanation
The answer is d.
Products, such as paints, cleaners, oils, batteries, and pesticides, that contain potentially hazardous ingredients require special care when you dispose of them. The dangers of such disposal methods might not be immediately obvious, but improper disposal of these wastes can pollute the environment and pose a threat to human health.
7.
___________________ takes up the most space in US landfills.
Correct Answer
paper
metal
plastic
yard waste
batteries and other car parts
Explanation
The answer is paper.
The trash most commonly found in municipal landfills is plain old paper—on average, it accounts for more than 40 percent of a landfill's contents. Newspapers, which can be recycled, can take up as much as 13 percent of the space in US landfills and deteriorates very slowly in a landfill. Research has shown that, when excavated from a landfill, newspapers from the 1960s can be intact and readable.
8.
Used oil from one oil change can contaminate how much fresh water?
Correct Answer
D. 1,000,000 gallons
Explanation
The answer is d.
Used oil from one oil change can contaminate 1 million gallons of fresh water - a year's supply for 50 people! Safe recycling of your used motor oil is easy to do:
• Do not spill any oil on the ground.
• Put your used motor oil in a clean plastic container with a tight lid. Never store used oil in a container that once held chemicals, food, or beverages.
• Do not mix the oil with anything else, such as antifreeze, solvent, or paint.
• Take used motor oil to a service station or other location that collects used motor oil for recycling.
9.
Wetlands provide:
Correct Answer
D. All of the above
Explanation
The answer is d.
We celebrate wetlands each May when they are teeming with new animal and plant life. Wetlands are valuable because they replenish and clean water supplies and reduce flood risks. In addition, wetlands provide recreational opportunities and aesthetic benefits. They serve as sites for research and education and benefit commercial fishing.
10.
AQI means:
Correct Answer
C. Air Quality Index
Explanation
The answer is c.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a brief, easy-to-read report of daily air quality. It tells you how clean or polluted your air is, and which associated health effects might be a concern for you. The AQI focuses on health effects you may experience within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air. The AQI reports on five major air pollutants, including ground-level ozone, particle pollution (extremely fine dust, also known as "particulate matter"), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. For each of these pollutants, EPA has established national air quality standards to protect public health.
11.
What's the leading cause of water quality problems in the U.S. today?
Correct Answer
B. Nonpoint sources
Explanation
The answer is b.
Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution is caused by rainfall or snowmelt "runoff" moving over and through the ground. As the runoff moves, it picks up and carries away natural and human-made pollutants, finally depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters, and even our underground sources of drinking water. States report that nonpoint source pollution is the leading remaining cause of water quality problems.
12.
Which creates more pollution, the average car or the average home?
Correct Answer
B. Average home
Explanation
The answer is b.
The average home creates more pollution than the average car. One inexpensive and energy- efficient way you can cut your home-related pollution is to replace old light bulbs and fixtures with EnergyStar-qualified lighting. Changing just five conventional bulbs to energy-efficient bulbs can save an estimated $60 per year. That's a $6 billion energy savings for Americans and an energy savings equivalent to the annual output of more than 21 power plants. And if every American household did this, together we'd keep more than one trillion pounds of greenhouse gas out of our air.
13.
What is the most environmentally friendly way to get rid of garbage?
Correct Answer
C. Use less stuff
Explanation
The answer is c.
Source reduction is a basic solution to the garbage glut: using less material means less waste at the end. Because source reduction actually prevents the generation of waste in the first place, it comes before other options that deal with trash after it already exists. Recycling (or re-using) and composting are the next best options because they reduce the amount of waste going to landfills and also let materials be re-claimed and used again when possible. Landfilling is the last option, when waste and materials are simply discarded.
14.
Recycling aluminum cans saves how much energy, compared to making new aluminum?
Correct Answer
D. 95 percent
Explanation
The answer is d.
Recycling aluminum cans saves 95 percent of the energy required to make the same amount of aluminum from raw aluminum ore, bauxite. For other recycled products, the amount of energy saved differs by material, but almost all recycling processes achieve significant energy savings compared to production using virgin materials. Harvesting, extracting, and processing the raw materials used to manufacture new products is an energy-intensive activity. Reducing or nearly eliminating the need for these processes, therefore, achieves huge savings in energy.
15.
What percentage of US homes have a septic system?
Correct Answer
C. 25 percent
Explanation
The answer is c.
Septic systems are being used in 25 percent of all U.S. homes. Poorly managed systems have been named as a concern by nearly every federal and state program that deals with water resource issues. According to various reports and studies, an estimated 10-20 percent of septic systems fail each year. Septic systems that are properly designed and managed can provide effective treatment and protection of health and water resources.
16.
Why do we need Wetlands?
Correct Answer
D. All of the Above.
Explanation
Wetlands are valuable because they replenish and clean water supplies and reduce flood risks.Wetlands provide recreational opportunities and aesthetic benefits. They serve as sites for research and education and benefit commercial fishing.