How green are you?

You are busy in your house tidying up going from room to room spending 5

to 10 minutes in each. Which is the best way to save energy?

• a) Switch the lights on and off every time you move from room to room

• b) Keep the lights on as you move about the house

Answer explanation

You are hungry and want to bake a potato. Which method is ‘greener’?

• a) Put it in an electric oven for an hour

• b) Quickly zap it in the microwave

Answer explanation

A microwave consumes a third of the energy of an electric oven.

You are thirsty so you go to a café to buy a drink. What do you choose?

• a) A bottle of mineral water

• b) A cup of coffee in a polystyrene cup

Answer explanation

Depending on where you are, most bottled mineral water has to be

transported a long way to reach the consumer. All transportation emits

CO2. Polystyrene no longer contains CFCs that damaged the ozone

layer.

You need a new shirt / blouse and there are two that you like in the shop.

You look at the label and see that one is made of 100% pure natural cotton

and the other is 50% polyester. You want to be as environmentally friendly

as you can.

Which one do you choose?

• a) The 100% cotton shirt

• b) The 50% polyester shirt

Answer explanation

Intensively grown cotton is one of the world’s most polluting crops. It

needs lots of chemicals to grow and maybe even 10 pesticide treatments

every season. It also needs large amounts of water.

Do you leave the tap on when you brush your teeth?

• Yes!

• No!

As well as putting their health and the health of those around them in

danger, smokers also put the environment in danger.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Tobacco needs really rich soil for it to grow and developing countries

often replace food crops with tobacco crops as it is more profitable. Most

tobacco is dried by burning wood. Every 300 cigarettes use the

equivalent of one tree to cure them.

Which is the ‘greenest’ way to wash your clothes?

• a) Machine wash in cold water

• b) Hand wash in hot water

Answer explanation

When washing clothes it’s the heating of the water that uses up most

of the energy. It is best to wash in cool or cold water and always fill up

the machine.

Which form of transport is better for the environment?

• Driving by car

• Flying by plane

Answer explanation

Although cars are massive polluters. planes give out 0.5 kilograms of

CO2 for every 1.6kilometres. To give an idea, the CO2 omitted on one

trip from the UK to India would take 2 trees 99 years to absorb! Extra

quote for students to discuss, "One person flying in an airplane for one

hour is responsible for the same greenhouse gas emissions as a typical

Bangladeshi in a whole year," – Beatrice Schell, European federation for

Transport and Environment, November 2001.

When you go to the supermarket how do you take your shopping home?

• In plastic carrier bags from the supermarket

• In your own bag or basket

Answer explanation

It is much better not to take plastic carrier bags from the supermarket.

If you do use them, try to re-use them.

If you have the choice, how do you prefer to buy a cold drink in a café?

• In a can

• In a glass bottle

Answer explanation

It is more likely that glass bottles are returned and re-used by the

manufacturers. If they are recycled, glass uses less energy than metal to

recycle.