How green was this decade?

The Sierra Club has put out a fun quiz to test your knowledge of the past decade, and the effects "green" living have had on it. If you'd like to take the quiz, go here ... and stop scrolling - the answers are listed below.


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compiled from www.sierraclub.org

1.The Hummer's demise signaled an end to an era of the gas-guzzling vehicle. Between 2007 and 2008, Hummer sales dropped by just over 50 percent. Sales plummeted 50.9 percent between 2007 and 2008. Sources: NYT and Autobloggreen.

2.In 2001, a Gallup poll found that 30 percent of Americans thought the seriousness of global warming was "exaggerated." In March 2009, that percentage had since increased. In March 2009, 41 percent of Americans thought the seriousness of global warming was exaggerated. Sources: Gallup.

3. In 2009, Gore's audiobook An Inconvenient Truth won a Grammy for best spoken word album, but it was read by Beau Bridges, Cynthia Nixon, and Blair Underwood. In 2006, Gore won an Oscar. In 2007, his network Current TV won a primetime Emmy. That same year he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

4. Congaree was established as a national park in 2003. Black Canyon of the Gunnison was established in 1999. Biscayne was 1980. And Saguaro was 1994. Other parks established in the 2000s include Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio and Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado.


5.Which of these species definitely did not become extinct during the past decade? The Tooth Cave Pseudoscorpion. Click here for a gallery of ten species that became extinct during the 2000s. The Tooth Cave Pseudoscorpion is not extinct, but it has been on the U.S. endangered species list since 1988 due to habitat loss and urban development.


6.Who said "We're spending money on clean coal technology. Do you realize we've got 250 million years of coal?" Former president George W. Bush made the remark on June 8, 2005. Estimations on total coal energy supply vary, but even the most overly optimistic numbers aren't more than a few hundred years.


7.According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, Arctic sea ice is now declining at a rate of just over 11.2  percent per decade, relative to the 1979 to 2000 average. Here is the graph.


8.The 2000 Olympics were in Australia. In 2004, they were in Greece. In 2008, they took place in China. Of the three countries, Australia has the worst greenhouse-gas emissions per capita. The Aussies are near the top of the world's list in greenhouse-gas emissions per capita. Greece also has a relatively high per capita emissions rate. China's rate is one of the lowest. But China, thanks to its increasing use of coal-powered energy, is now believed to top the list for total greenhouse gas emissions.


9.In 2009, the rate of deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest was much lower than in 2000. In 2009, Brazil reported rainforest deforestation at under 10,000 square kilometers. In 2000, Brazil reported that figure at just under 20,000 square kilometers. According to Mongabay.com,  "The reduction in Amazon deforestation comes a year after Brazil announced an ambitious plan to reduce forest loss by 70 percent by 2018 as part of its climate policy. Deforestation accounts for more than three-fifths of Brazil's greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 20 percent of emissions worldwide. Brazil is seeking billions of dollars from industrialized nations for its efforts to reduce deforestation."


10.In July 2000, gas prices were roughly $1.50 a gallon, according to the Energy Information Administration. In November 2009, the national average was about $2.66 a gallon. Prices peaked above the $4 mark in July 2008.


For more green fun, check out other "How Green is my ..." quizzes at http://www.sierraclub.org/howgreen/