catapult magazine

One resource-full week

by Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma

Instructions:

Each day, take the natural resource quiz (answers at the bottom). Collect coins in a recyclable container (box, glass jar, etc.) and donate at the end of the week to a local environmental cause or social services agency that assists with utility emergencies.

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SUNDAY: WATER

1. True or False

   : The U.S. consumes water at twice the rate of other industrialized nations.



2. True or False: The overall amount of water on our planet has decreased 40% over the past 2 billion years.


3. A majority of the world?s people walk ___ to get water.
   
   

   15 seconds, 20 minutes or 3 hours



4. Average water use per person each day in the U.S.:
   
   

   10 gallons, 100 gallons or 1,000 gallons

Water Facts: It takes about 6 gallons of water to grow a head of lettuce, 49 gallons to produce a glass of milk and 2,600 gallons to produce one pound of steak.

MONDAY: FUEL

1. Which fuel heats 61% of U.S. homes?
   
   

   Coal, Natural Gas, Wood or Propane



2. True or False: While demand for natural gas has doubled in the past 20 years, supply has stayed the same.


3. True or False: Regular diesel engines can run on used cooking oil.

Fuel Facts: The U.S. is the world?s largest consumer of oil, using 25% of the global supply. 90% of the oil in the earth?s crust has been discovered and, since 1970, more oil has been extracted than has been discovered.

TUESDAY: AIR

1. How many gallons of air does the average person breathe each day?
   
   

   100 gallons, 1,000 gallons, 3,000 gallons or 300,000 gallons



2. True or False: Indoor air is much cleaner than outdoor air.


3. True or False: Air pollution affects African American people more than it affects Caucasian people.

Air Fact: About 40% of trips are less than two miles?about a 10-minute bike ride or a 30-minute walk. A short, four-mile round trip bike ride keeps about 15 lbs. of pollutants out of the air we breathe.

WEDNESDAY: TREES

1. It takes ___ trees to make the oxygen to combat the amount of carbon dioxide a car produces in one year.
   
   

   10 trees, 50 trees or 130 trees



2. True or False: Rainforests, which cover 2% of the earth?s surface, house 25% of our living species.


3. True or False: Hospital patients require shorter stays and fewer painkillers if room windows face trees.


4. Two mature trees produce enough oxygen for:
   
   

   1 person, 4 people or a small village

Tree Fact: 90% fewer species of birds are found in sun-grown coffee areas than shade-grown coffee areas. Buy shade-grown coffee?it?s for the birds!

THURSDAY: WIND

1. What percentage of U.S. electricity could be provided by wind farms on less than one percent of its land?
   
   

   One percent, twenty percent or fifty percent



2. True or False: Wind energy production is completely harmless to the environment.


3. Running one wind turbine can displace 2,000 tons of carbon dioxide in one year which is equivalent to planting:
   
   

   2 trees, 1 acre of forest or 1 square mile of forest

Wind Fact: The U.S. is second in the world for wind energy capacity, with 6,370 megawatts installed. Germany is first with 14,600 megawatts.

FRIDAY: SUN

1. True or False: Our bodies produce all the vitamin D they need after about 20 minutes of sun exposure.


2. More than ____ homes in the U.S. are entirely powered by solar energy.
   
   

   1,000 homes, 10,000 homes or 100,000 homes



3. True or False: The earth receives more energy from the sun in just one hour than the whole world uses in a month.

Sun Fact: Solar-powered ovens and radios are used in parts of the developing world where sun is plentiful but electricity and fuel are not available or affordable.

SATURDAY: FOOD

1. How many farmers leave their family-owned farms each week in the U.S.?
   
   

   78 farmers, 189 farmers, 330 farmers or 510 farmers



2. True or False: In 2000, poor diet and physical inactivity caused 400,000 deaths in the U.S.


3. In the U.S., the average prepared meal includes ingredients from how many countries?
   
   

   One, three, five or seven

Food Fact: A fifteen-year study shows that organic farming uses 50% less energy than conventional methods. Each year in the 1990s, demand for organic agricultural products grew 20% or more.

ANSWERS

Sunday: Water

1. True.


2. False: It has stayed the same for 2 billion years, but two-thirds of the world?s population will fact water shortages by 2025.


3. 3 hours. 1.2 billion people do not have access to any clean water and 10,000 children die each day from diseases contracted from impure water.


4. 100 gallons, two-thirds of which is for showering/bathing and using the toilet.

Put a dime in your container for each time you flush a toilet today.

Monday: Fuel

1. Natural gas.
2. True: While the current supply will last more than 60 years, it is recommended that households reduce their need for natural gas by insulating, addressing drafts and switching to energy-efficient furnaces.
3. True: Cooking oil can be processed into biodiesel, providing a renewable means of fueling vehicles.

Put fifty cents in your coin container for each vehicle in your family that averages less than 35 miles per gallon of fuel. Put a dime in your container for each degree your thermostat is set above 65 degrees in winter or below 75 degrees in summer.

Tuesday: Air

1. 3,000.
2. False: Indoor air pollutants can be 2-5 times higher due to household chemicals, decreased ventilation and human-made building materials.
3. True: 68% of African Americans live within 30 miles of a coal-fired power plant (a major source of air pollution) and asthma attacks send African Americans to the emergency room at 3 times the rate of whites.

Put a nickel in your coin container for every mile you ride in a vehicle to get to work, school and church. Could you walk, bike or carpool in the future?

Wednesday: Trees

1. 130 trees.
2. False: In fact, 50% of the world?s living species are found only in rainforests!
3. True.
4. 4 people.

Put $1.00 in your coin container if you did not plant a tree in the past year. Put another $1.00 in if you did not plant a tree the year before. What occasion could you commemorate this year by planting a tree?

Thursday: Wind

1. 20 percent.
2. False: While wind energy produces no pollutants in contrast to other power sources, the large turbines do present a danger to birds and bats. Studies are being conducted on how to place wind farms so they do the least possible damage to flying creatures.
3. One square mile of forest.

Put a dime in your container for each item in your kitchen that uses electricity. What natural resource produced the power to run those appliances?

Friday: Sun

1. False: In 20 minutes of sun exposure, our bodies produce 100 times more Vitamin D than we need. However, a few minutes of exposure each day is desirable.
2. 10,000.
3. Trick question! It?s true AND false, because the earth receives more energy from the sun in one hour than the earth uses in a whole year

   !

Put $1.00 in your coin container if your house does not have a shade tree planted on the south side, which saves energy from cooling in the summer.

Saturday: Food

1. 330 farmers. Family-owned farms are being replace by factory farms that produce more waste and use more pesticides and chemicals.
2. True.
3. Five. Choosing fresh, locally-grown foods when possible reduces the amount of fuel used for transportation and energy used for packaging and processing.

Are you ready for a challenge? Put a penny in for every food item in your house that was produced outside of your state!