Grex Nature Conference

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Grex Nature Item 18: Manny Lujan, please report to the principal's office...and allow the rest of the class to complete this border-to-border environmental quiz
Entered by jdg on Tue Mar 3 00:24:43 UTC 1992:

Stolen from the February, 1992 Outside Magazine, written by Mike Grudowski.
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The surprising part of the "1991-1992 Green Index," a state-by-state review
of the condition of the U.S. environment recently published by Island Press
($18.95), is not the final rankings.  The winners for greenest overall
states are Oregon, Maine, and Vermont; the losers are Alabama, Louisiana,
and Arkansas.  But things aren't always so clear-cut in the book's thick
bank of statistical tables, where 256 analyses reveal each and every state
to be a vibrant mixed bag of environmental good and evil.  Now that all the
stats are available in one place, it may be only a matter of time before
Rotisserie League Environmentalism becomes the rage.  In the meantime, we've
compiled a little questionnaire to test the depth of your green knowledge....

1.   Match the license plate slogan to the signature environmental problem:

        I.      Show Me State
        II.     Live Free or Die
        III.    10,000 Lakes
        IV.     Garden State

        a.      leads the United States in both density of toxics released and
                density of vehicle traffic
        b.      has one-third of its groundwater contaminated by pesticides
        c.      releases three pounds of cancer-causing chemicals per resident
                each year
        d.      leads the United States in transfer of toxic chemicals to
                public sewers

2.   The nation's single largest industrial source of airborne toxics is

        a.      a Union Carbide plant on the Mississippi River downstream
                from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
        b.      a Monsanto factory near the New Jersey Turnpike.
        c.      a Magnesium Corporation of America plant in Rowley, Utah.
        d.      a Denny's restaurant in Pompano Beach, Florida.

3.   Which one of these statements about California is false?

        a.      Ohio has more vehicles per square mile.
        b.      Maryland produces more garbage per person.
        c.      France produces more carbon dioxide.
        d.      The average American burns more gasoline than the average
                Californian.

4.   Which one of these statements is not true of Louisiana?

        a.      The Environmental Protection Agency classifies more than 99
                percent of its rivers and streams as "impaired."
        b.      Its industries release nearly twice the per-resident amount
                of toxins as those in the next-worst state.
        c.      The Commerce Department has classified its shellfishing
                waters as "restricted" due to pollution.
        d.      One of its Senators lobbied successfully to have Congress
                classify oil-drilling waste as nonhazardous.

5.   Match each current or former home of George Bush with its inconvenience:

        I.      Connecticut
        II.     Washington, D.C.
        III.    Maine
        IV.     Texas

        a.      has nation's highest per capita number of workers directly
                involved with hazardous waste
        b.      leads the United States in per capita emission of ozone-
                depleting substances
        c.      emits more toxins into the air than any other state
        d.      has Capitol corroded by acid rain

6.   In 1988, Shell Oil put 152 million pounds of something into the ground
     in Louisiana.  What was it?

        a.      hydrochloric acid
        b.      unrefined petroleum from a leaking tank
        c.      raw sewage
        d.      Environmental Protection Agency paperwork

7.  Which of the following measures would result in the greatest reduction
    in U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions?

        a.      install vapor-catching nozzles on all gasoline pumps
        b.      require all vehicles to average 45 miles per gallon
        c.      sell Louisiana to Japan
        d.      lock Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan in an airtight
                vault

10 responses total.

#1 of 10 by steve on Thu Mar 5 22:56:20 1992:

   Horrifying.

   There is no "safe" place to live here.  Perhaps there are better
places, but none that are safe.

#2 of 10 by jdg on Fri Mar 6 00:34:29 1992:

No one wants to try the quiz?

#3 of 10 by jdg on Fri Mar 6 02:18:26 1992:

 
   You'll find the answers in /h1b/u/jdg/nature.18.answers

#4 of 10 by steve on Fri Mar 6 06:01:15 1992:

   I'll take it this weekend.

#5 of 10 by polygon on Sun Mar 8 14:37:13 1992:

Okay, here's my attempt:

    1.  iv-a, i-b, iii-c, ii-d
    2.  c
    3.  d
    4.  a
    5.  i-a, ii-b, iii-d, iv-c
    6.  b
    7.  b

#6 of 10 by jdg on Mon Mar 23 00:52:34 1992:

 
I've cleaned out my personal directory, and in doing so have moved the 
answers to #0 here:
 
1: I-d, II-c, III-b, IV-a.

2: c.

3: c.

4: a, but that *is* true of Iowa.

5: I-b, II-d, III-a, IV-c.

6: a.

7: Hard to say -- let's try them all.

#7 of 10 by kentn on Mon Mar 23 01:22:05 1992:

What's this bullshit about Iowa, Josh?

#8 of 10 by jdg on Mon Mar 23 03:00:45 1992:

That the EPA classifies more than 99% of its rivers and streams as, "Impaired."

#9 of 10 by kentn on Mon Mar 23 06:00:40 1992:

Hmmmm...

#10 of 10 by steve on Tue Mar 24 04:38:23 1992:

   No doubt!  The sheer poundage of chemicals used in Iowa is incredible.
Farming is one of the most polluting industries in this country.

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