Sample Quiz Question for Week #11AB

Environmental Studies 126

Integrated Liberal Studies 126

The questions for this week will come from Chapters 1 and 4 ofJust Food, from the chapter in Bananas “More About Food,” from lectures 11A and 11B, and from your laboratory activity this week (Carbon footprints at Ginger Root).

  1. Just Food! Chapter 1. Food miles or friendly miles?
  1. What is meant by the concept “food miles”?
  1. The author calls food miles “the half-and-half in our coffee.” Explain his metaphor.
  1. Page 23 of Chapter 1 introduces the concept of the LCA, a concept that is “currently off the public radar screen.” What does LCA stand for? How can an LCA help us understand the carbon footprint of a food item?
  1. OK, if you have read this chapter you now know where the author is coming from in regards to eating local food. Argue with him!Present a counter argument.
  1. Just Food! Chapter 4. Meat, the new caviar

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  1. The message of this chapter is “If you want to start changing the environment with your diet, one of the most productive things you can do is ______” (page 118, beginning of chapter 4) “a conclusion that may very well be the book’s most important”)
  1. On page 126, the author notes: “the impact of livestock on climate change and air quality has been historically overlooked in large part because the causes are so dispersed, and in most cases hard to visualize.” Yep, a superpower would help. If you could see through time & space, what in meat production contributes to global warming? Name two items.
  1. Grass-fed beef has real merits. Name two of them. Even so, the author recognizes the drawbacks. Name two of them.
  1. OK, now you know where the author is coming from with respect to eating meat. If you agree with him, state your own argument. If you cannot agree with him, again state your own argument.
  1. How Bad Are Bananas? More about food
  1. At the start of the semester, we mentioned thatCO2 was not the only greenhouse gasin town. Now in week #11, the other greenhouse gases are back! Fill in the blanks (quoted from Bananas):

Whereas _____ is the dominant greenhouse gas overall, it accounts for only 11%of agricultural emissions. The rest is ______(53%) and ______(36%).

______is 296x more potent per pound than CO2 as a climate-change gas, and on farms it results mainly from the use of ______(but also from cattle pee, especially if there is excessive protein in their diet, and from the burning of biomass and fuel).

______which is 25xmore potent than CO2, is mainly emitted by cows and sheep when they belch (and fart). Some is also emitted from silage.

The CO2 emitted comes from farm machinery but also from the ______used to grow crops out of season or in countries that just don’t have the right climate.

  1. We examined the carbon footprints of beverages in lecture 11A (figure to right). This is from Bananas, Figure 4.1 with yellow added.
  1. The figure to the right shows the carbon footprint of coffee/tea drinks. What contributes to the yellow areas? The dark grey areas (to the left of the yellow)?
  1. Review: The unit on the x-axis (horizontal) is kg CO2e. What does the “e” stand for and why is it included in the carbon footprint?
  1. Review: The energy required to heat water for a beverage depends on three things. Name each one.
  1. Review: the carbon footprint of water increases four-fold when you pour it down the drain. Explain why.
  1. As of April 2014, here is the cast of atoms & molecules in ENV ST / ILS 126.

Know the names of these characters, know how they differ from each other, and know a story about each one.

For example:

  1. How do N2 and NO2 differ in terms of how much of them is in the atmosphere? In terms of how they are involved in air quality?
  1. How do O2 and O3 differ? For example, if you could listen in on the conversation of a plant, what would the plant say about the presence of each of these in the atmosphere?
  1. How do CO2, CH4, and N2O differ in terms of being greenhouse gases?
  1. Tell a story about methane, … For example, what happens to it in the Charter Street Heating Plant? How is it produced on a farm? Or how does it help keep our planet warm (or perhaps a bit too warm)?