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Answers to quiz on page 8: 1. Answer: A. Earth Day falls on April 22nd. This is a 50-year old tradition, established in 1970. It brings together communities around the world to become more of aware of and tackle modern-day environmental problems. 2. Answer: False. The idea for a national day to focus on the environment came to U.S. Senator, Gaylord Nelson, after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. Senator Nelson announced the idea for a "national teach-in on the environment" to the national media. Hayes put together a team of 85 people to promote events across the land, and April 22, falling between Spring Break and Final Exams, was selected as the date. 3. Answer: This couldn't be more false. You should always care about the environment and act to protect it. Earth Day just brings together people from across the world in a huge effort to do so. 4. Answer: A. As of 2015, about 6.3 billion metric tons (Mt) of plastic has been produced in the U.S. and, of that, only 9% has been recycled, according to a recent study. The scary thing is if current trends continue in the U.S., 12 billion Mt of plastic waste will end up in landfills or the ocean by 2050. 5. Answer: A. Taking hundreds of years to break up, plastic is not going anywhere soon. While some of it does make it to landfills and recycling centers, a majority of it ends up in the ocean through deliberate dumping of garbage into waterways, inefficient waste systems, and simple littering. Once in the water, the plastic waste is gathered up by one of the five major subtropical gyres into enormous stretches of "plastic soup." 6. Answer: C. Plastic tends to float and bobbing on the surface can lead them to be mistaken for other marine life. Plastic bags are often mistaken for jellyfish by leatherback turtles and consumed. A 2009 study found that out of 408 leatherback sea turtle autopsy reports, plastic was found in a third of those cases. Marine life can also get tangled in nets, cords, and other plastic debris, which hinders their ability to swim and in some cases, can be a severe choking hazard. 7. Answer: C. The Earth receives solar radiation from the sun. Passing through the atmosphere, some radiation is absorbed by the Earth, while some is reflected back to space. When the exchange of incoming and outgoing radiation occurs, some of the radiation becomes trapped by gases in the atmosphere. This creates a "greenhouse" effect and warms the planet. 8. Answer: A. According to North Carolina State University, one large tree is able to supply a day's supply of oxygen for four people. Trees are also able to absorb up to 48 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. 9. Answer: E. all these species are threatened with extinction. 10. Answer: True. Ocean noise created by human activities puts marine species at risk and threatens their survival. Increased noise levels can impact certain species like whales, who rely on the ability to communicate and hear in their natural environment to find food, mates, and avoid predators. Source: earthday.org 8 • APRIL 2020 • Of f icialKidsMag.com

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