Quiz

BuzzFeed News Reporter

Science

When researchers at Yale University put these questions to U.S. adults, most failed miserably. Can you do better?

Do You Know More About Climate Change Than The Average American?

Greenhouse gases trap heat from the sun, reflected back from the Earth’s surface.

What does the “greenhouse effect” refer to?

Since 1850, the Earth has warmed on average by almost 2 degrees F (about 1 degree C).  
Scientists know how much the Earth has warmed since the industrial revolution from measurements taken at weather stations over many decades.  
Estimating the current global average temperature is hard because fewer measurements are made over the oceans and near the poles. The value of 58 degrees F selected by Yale for its survey is at the upper end of current estimates.

The average temperature of the earth’s surface is currently about 58 degrees Fahrenheit (14.4 degrees Celsius). What was the average 150 years ago?

During the last ice age, huge ice sheets extended much farther from the poles than they do today. But the Earth’s average temperature was still comfortably above freezing.

And what was the average temperature during the last ice age, which peaked around 21,000 years ago?

All three are greenhouse gases. Another is nitrous oxide, which is emitted when farmers add nitrogen to the soil by using synthetic fertilizers.

Which gas is good at trapping heat from the Earth’s surface?

When fossil fuels burn, much of the carbon they contain combines with oxygen to form carbon dioxide.

Which gas is produced by burning fossil fuels?

Natural gas forms when the remains of dead plants and animals are exposed to intense heat and pressure over thousands of years.

Which is a fossil fuel?

Fossil fuels formed from the remains of dead plants and animals. The energy they contain came from sunlight, captured by photosynthesizing plants.

Where did the energy in fossil fuels originally come from?

That’s just under 0.03% of the air, by volume.

Roughly how much carbon dioxide was in the atmosphere in 1850?

There is about 38% more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today than there was in 1850.

Roughly how much carbon dioxide is in the atmosphere today?

Scientists have measured sea level rise with tide gauges, and more recently, from satellites.

How much do scientists estimate that global sea levels rose from 1900 to 2000?

China’s carbon dioxide emissions overtook those of the U.S. in 2007.

Which of these countries emits the most carbon dioxide?

On average, each American is responsible for more than twice the carbon dioxide emissions of the average Chinese citizen.

Which of these countries emits the most carbon dioxide per person?

When researchers at Yale University gave American adults a quiz including versions of these questions, 52% scored an F grade.

You get an F

You get a D

You get a C

You get a B

You get an A

<p>Check out the full results of the Yale survey <a href="http://environment.yale.edu/climate-communication/article/Americans-knowledge-of-climate-change" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>

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Do You Know More About Climate Change Than The Average American?

The world's nations are about to gather in Paris to agree a new treaty to limit global warming. So now is a good time to test your knowledge of climate change.

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