Climate Change Facts – A Quiz

Do You Know These Climate Change Facts?

Climate Change Quiz Questions

How much do you know about climate change?

climate change facts query what you knowWhat are real climate change facts, and what do we believe that isn’t true?

CNN columnist John D. Sutter wrote an article about his experiences on a visit to Woodward County, Oklahoma. Apparently it’s one of the most climate-sceptic parts of the US.

He met people there who believed that hair spray was causing climate change, and that wind farms pollute more than oil.

(Of course my readers know that those are NOT climate change facts).

Sutter believes it’s because we don’t talk enough about climate change. He’s probably right.

So he put together a 10-question quiz, which I reproduce here. Sutter encourages you to share your results on social media, in order to get conversations going.

We need to spread awareness of climate change facts, not fiction.

Climate Change Facts – A Quiz

  1. Let’s say you’re at a party with all the world’s working climate scientists. If you were able to poll each of them, what percentage of the scientists would tell you climate change is real and we humans are causing it?

(a) 58%

(b) 97%

  1. What percentage of Americans know the answer to Question 1?

(a) 10%

(b) 50%

  1. In the United States, what is the biggest contributor to climate change?

(a) Electricity use

(b) Transportation

  1. When it comes to information about climate change, which person — or group of people — are Americans more likely to say they trust?

(a) Pope Francis

(b) Family and friends

  1. Which country would you say is more skeptical of climate science?

(a) United States

(b) Norway

  1. What percentage of Americans do you think would say they are either “extremely” or “very” sure that climate change is not happening?

(a) 9%

(b) 28%

  1. Which of these Republican candidates for the 2016 U.S. presidency said climate change is real, is caused by people, and is a problem.

(a) Lindsey Graham

(b) Donald Trump

  1. Which country has contributed the most, overall, to climate change?

(a) China

(b) United States

  1. Climate change is in the news quite frequently. But what percentage of Americans rarely or never talks about climate change?

(a) 48%

(b) 74%

  1. What percentage of Americans support strict emissions limits on coal power plants?

(a) 40%

(b) 70%

Now, check your answers:

Climate Change Facts – Quiz Answers

1 (b) Multiple studies published in scientific journals show 97% of actively publishing climate scientists agree: Climate-warming trends are due to human activities. Plus, most leading scientific organizations worldwide have endorsed this.

2 (a) According to the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication, only 1 in 10 Americans knows that that climate change is real and caused by humans. (So if you got Question 1 right, hooray! You’re in the hyper-enlightened 10%! Go tell a friend …)

3 (a) Electricity – but it’s close. Thirty-one percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions come from burning coal, gas and oil for electricity, compared to 21% for transportation, like driving cars, according to the EPA.

4 (b) 67 percent of Americans trust family and friends for information about global warming, according to a 2015 survey by Yale University and George Mason University. Only 50% trust Pope Francis (who released an encyclical on the moral injustice of climate change) for that sort of information. Perhaps surprisingly, climate scientists are the most trusted group (70%), followed by other kinds of scientists (64%), TV weather reporters (60%) and personal primary care doctors (57%). (You’re family and friends to others – get them talking!)

5 (b) The US has a reputation for being an international laggard on climate change, but Australia has the highest proportion of skeptics at 17%, followed by Norway (15%), New Zealand (13%) and the USA (12%), according to a May 2015 study published in Global Environmental Change. At the other extreme, only 2% of the Spanish and 4% of Germans and Swiss are climate skeptics, while the proportion of skeptics in all other countries is only 10% or less. The authors looked at 14 industrialized countries.

6 (a) 9% – that makes it a fringe view (the same percentage of Americans also believe vaccines are more dangerous than disease). Neither view, for the record, is supported by science. Those numbers come from the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication.

7 (a) Sen. Lindsey Graham, from South Carolina, has acknowledged the reality of climate science. Graham, who was not a front-runner, helped write bipartisan climate legislation in 2009 and 2010 before withdrawing his support, according to new reports. “I know I’m not a scientist, but here’s the problem I’ve got with some people in my party: When you ask the scientists what’s going on, why don’t you believe them?” he asked the late-night talk show host Seth Meyers earlier this summer. “If I went to 10 doctors and nine said, ‘Hey you’re gonna die,’ and one says, “You’re fine,’ why would I believe the one guy?” Donald Trump has stated many times that he is “not a huge believer in the global warming phenomenon.”

8 (b) Since 1850, the United States has emitted 366 gigatons of carbon dioxide; China has emitted 150 gigatons, according to the World Resources Institute. Pretty soon, China likely will pass the United States as the world’s largest contributor to climate change, and already emits more carbon dioxide per year than the United States. But thinking about these numbers in the longer term makes sense. They tell us how much each country is to blame for the warming already locked into place.

9 (b) Three-quarters of Americans say they rarely or never hear someone they know talk about climate change facts, according to Yale surveys published in 2015. And it’s getting worse over time. In 2008, 60% of people surveyed said they talked rarely or never about climate change, which is considerably lower. This is a huge problem. People trust the views of their family and friends on this important topic, but fewer are speaking up!

10 (b) Seven in 10 Americans (70%) support setting strict carbon dioxide emission limits on existing coal-fired plants to reduce global warming and improve public health, even though the cost of electricity would likely increase, according to a survey from Yale University and George Mason University, published in 2015. Majorities in nearly every state support that type of action, which is the basis of the Clean Power Plan.

Climate Change Facts – Quiz Result

If you scored 8 or more correct, you really know about climate change in America!

What To Do

Here are 4 things you can do:

  1. Tell people about these climate change facts!  Get conversations going over dinners, during drinks, at work, at parties, with kids, with family, with friends…..
  2. Share these climate change facts on social media! Share this quiz on Facebook or wherever you spend time – sharing buttons below and right.
  3. And if you think individuals can’t do much about climate change, think again! Download this free report to find out exactly what you can do.
  4. For some great articles with more climate change facts, check out CNN’s 2 degrees project.

Get talking about climate change facts – and thank you for doing so!

Please share this Quiz and spread the word – sharing buttons below and right – thank you!


Tags

America, climate change, climate change facts, climate change in America, quiz, US, USA


  • {"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}
    Join 5 De-Stress Yoga Challenge happy woman
    >