Washington Gas

How much do you know about the stuff that makes your life's engine run? In a country that uses the lion's share of the world's energy, Americans tend to be woefully uninformed about the substances that make their world turn. For instance, do you know which fossil fuel is the most environmentally friendly? What about what ethanol is made of? If those questions are no-brainers, I challenge you to see how you measure up on our Energy Quiz. Or, if you are now Googling "ethanol," wondering how this knowledge escaped you, try your luck at answering the questions below to see what you need to know. 

1. How many barrels of oil does America use every day?
2. If all his/her energy needs were provided by gasoline, how many gallons of the stuff would an average American consume every day?
3. By what percentage has U.S. coal consumption increased since the early 1970s?
4. Today, what percentage of coal used in the U.S. is for electricity production?
5. The energy supplied by the sun in one hour is equivalent to the amount the world uses in what amount of time?
6. How much of the U.S.'s solar energy does California produce, and what percentage of the state's energy consumption does that cover?
7. The market for what type of energy is increasing most rapidly?
8. What country's wind energy market is growing by over 100 percent annually?
9. What substances can be used to make ethanol?
10. What is the most environmentally friendly fossil fuel?
11. Why does natural gas smell like rotten eggs?
12. If you connected all the natural gas pipelines in U.S. end to end, how far would they stretch?

Answers:

1. Over 20 million barrels (900 million gallons) of oil
2. Seven gallons of gas
3. Over 63 percent
4. Over 90 percent of coal
5. One year
6. Two-thirds of the U.S.'s solar energy, covering 0.25 percent of California's needs.
7. Wind power
8. China's
9. Grains like sorghum or biomass sources like corn cobs, cornstalks, wheat straw, rice straw, switchgrass, and forestry waste.
10. Natural gas
11. As natural gas is odorless, gas companies add mercaptan, a chemical odorant, so consumers can detect gas leaks from the smell.
12. Beyond the moon

What's your energy IQ score?

Did you get 1 to 4 questions correct?
Your score: Dim bulb.

Answered 5 to 8 right?
Verdict: Keeping the porch light on.

Nailed 9 to 12?
Consider yourself en-light-ened.