Climate Change Quiz

More than a third of food produced globally never makes it to the table. Some of this wasted food spoils  in transit, while consumers throw some of this food out. During the production, harvesting, transporting, and packaging of the wasted food, more than 3.3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide is emitted.

Greenhouse gases may be a result of natural occurrence or human activity. These gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Fluorinated gases are also considered to be greenhouse gases.

The Earth receives solar radiation from the sun. Passing through the atmosphere, some radiation is absorbed by the Earth, while some is reflected back to space. When the exchange of incoming and outgoing radiation occurs, some of the radiation becomes trapped by gases in the atmosphere. This creates a “greenhouse” effect and warms the planet.

All of these are problems associated with climate change. The majority of scientists agree that many of these effects are caused by human contribution to the greenhouse effect. Extreme weather events, droughts, heat waves, and rising sea levels  will have devastating effects on the world’s poorest countries and communities.

Along with these important steps that can be taken to help fight climate change, we also suggest adding your voice to the issues surrounding the climate debate, investing in clean energy companies, holding  yourself accountable for your actions and being aware of your impact on the planet, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in your daily life.

Studies show that 97 percent (or more) of climate scientists who are actively publishing agree that climate change is likely due to human activity.  Nearly 200 scientific organizations across the globe have issued statements that publicly endorse this view.

The Paris Agreement aims to keep the overall increase in global temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius, with the hope of limiting it to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Scientists believe that these are the largest increases in global temperature that we could experience without causing catastrophic change to the Earth’s climate.

According to the EPA, China is currently the top emitter of carbon dioxide, accounting for 30% of global carbon emissions. The United States ranks as the second top emitter at 15%.

The transportation sector emits 14% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Most of this involves fossil fuels burned for road, rail, air, and marine transportation, since petroleum-based fuels (i.e., gasoline and diesel) account for almost all of the world’s transportation energy.

The electricity and heat production sector emits the largest percentage of global greenhouse gas emissions at 25%. Agriculture, forestry, and other land use sector is a close second at 24%.

The average global temperature has risen by 1.69 degrees F (0.94 degrees C) since the twentieth century with more significant warming toward the poles than in the equatorial region.