With the international climate change conference now underway in Copenhagen, Denmark, there is plenty of talk about the environment. But among all the media and discussion, what are the facts? The Wall Street Journal had an interesting set of questions in today’s paper to test your environmental knowledge. We’ll put up two a day this week to mark the negotiations and broaden understanding on some key facts. I found some of the answers surprising and enlightening. How many can you get correct?

The full quiz can be found here.

What’s the most prevalent greenhouse gas in the earth’s atmosphere?
A. Methane
B. Carbon dioxide
C. Water vapor
D. Tropospheric ozone
E. Hot air from politicians

ANSWER: C. Water vapor makes up by far the largest share of the gases in the atmosphere that interact with sunlight and contribute to global warming. However, water vapor also condenses into clouds, which help reflect sunlight, so most of the focus in limiting climate change is on longer-lived greenhouse gases that more effectively trap heat, such as carbon dioxide and methane.

What country gets the largest share of its electricity from renewable sources?A. Denmark
B. Norway
C. New Zealand
D. Austria
E. Iceland

ANSWER: E. Iceland’s power is about 75% hydroelectric and 25% geothermal. Geothermal power, or tapping the earth’s underground heat, provides a rare double whammy for clean energy: It’s cheap and always available. Just not everywhere. Norway, a close second in renewable sourcing, gets 99% of its electricity from hydroelectric power.

- 2nd Green Revolution

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