Earth Day: Build your Eco-Knowledge (Water)

Courtesy of www.earthday.ca

Build your eco-knowledge and share it with others. Use these fun and challenging questions as resources in your environmental activities and initiatives.

Water

A typical 5-minute shower uses ____ litres of water:

A) 50

B) 100

C) 150

D) 200

Answer: B

Take Action: Use a low flow showerhead and you can reduce the amount of water used during a five minute shower to 35 litres. You will save water and money on your water bill.

Over a period of one day, a slow dripping drop could fill a:

A) Swimming pool

B) Bathtub

C) Drinking glass

D) Sink

Answer: B – Slow dripping taps can actually be more wasteful than high volume toilets.

Take Action: Fix your faucets to prevent wasting water.

The average Canadian uses 36,000 L of water each year for:

A) Showers

B) Dish Washing

C) Laundry

D) Toilet Flushing

Answer: D – the average toilet uses about 19 litres per flush.

Take Action: Replace your toilet with a low flush toilet or purchase a water displacement dam for your current toilet. Water dams can save up to five litres per flush.

How much water is used to produce 1kg of paper?

A) 100 litres

B) 200 litres

C) 300 litres

D) 400 litres

Answer: C

Take Action: Use both sides of a sheet of paper before recycling it. Buy products that are labeled: contains “post-consumer” recycled material. This means it is made from things that you put into your blue box.

What country has the greatest supply of fresh water?

A) Canada

B) Brazil

C) Russia

D) China

Answer: A

Take Action: Use water conservatively in your life. Although Canada has access to the greatest supply of fresh water, much of it is wasted. There is a severe fresh water shortage in many areas around the globe today so we must be careful to preserve our water and avoid contaminating it.

How many litres of water can be saved on average if you turn off the tap when you brush your teeth or wash your face?

A) 5 litres

B) 7 litres

C) 9 litres

D) 11 litres

Answer: D

Take Action: Turn off the tap when not needed, or partially fill up the sink with water to use and plug it, then turn the tap off so that it doesn’t run.

The average automatic dishwasher uses ___ litres of water for each cycle.

A) 10

B) 20

C) 30

D) 40

Answer: D

Take Action: Turn on the dishwasher only when there is a full load because it uses the same amount of water whether it’s full of dishes or not.

Also test your knowledge on Energy or Food & Garden