Carnegie Mellon University
AC-6: Sustainability Literacy Assessment

Which of the following is a renewable resource?

1. Oil
2. Coal
3. Trees
4. B and C
5. All of the above
6. Don't know

Which of the following would be considered living in the most environmentally sustainable way?

1. Recycling all recyclable packaging
2. Reducing consumption of all products
3. Buying products labeled "eco" or "green"
4. Using compostable silverware
5. Buying the newest products available
6. Don't know

Many economists argue that electricity prices in the U.S. are too low because…?

1. They do not reflect the costs of pollution from generating the electricity.
2. Too many suppliers go out of business
3. Electric companies have a monopoly in their service area
4. Consumers spend only a small part of their income on energy
5. Don’t know

Over the past 3 decades, what has happened to the difference between the wealth of the richest and poorest Americans? 

1. The difference has increased
2. The difference has stayed about the same
3. The difference has decreased
4. Don’t know

What is the most common cause of pollution of streams and rivers?

1. Dumping of garbage by cities
2. Surface water running off yards, city streets, paved lots, and farm fields
3. Litter near streams and rivers
4. Waste dumped by factories
5. Don't know

Which of the following foods is the most carbon intensive to produce? 

1. Chicken
2. Fish
3. Beef
4. Pork
5. Don’t know

Which of the following currently CAN be recycled on campus? (Select all that apply.) 

1. Paper
2. Glass
3. Plastic bottles
4. Plastic tubs
5. Cardboard
6. Aluminum Cans
7. Batteries 
8. Electronic Waste
9. Don’t Know

Which of the following is the best example of environmental justice? 

1. Urban citizens win a bill to have toxic wastes taken to rural communities
2. The government dams a river, flooding Native American tribal lands to create hydro-power for large cities
3. All stakeholders from an indigenous community are involved in setting a quota for the amount of wood they can take from a protected forest next to their village
4. Multinational corporations build factories in developing countries where environmental laws are less strict.
5. Don’t know

According to 2023 data, which of the following countries is the largest emitter of greenhouse gas, just above the United States? 

1. Brazil
2. China
3. Japan
4. Sweden
5. Don’t know

Literacy questions are from the Ohio State University's Assessment of Sustainability Knowledge (ASK) survey. The Environmental and Social Sustainability Lab (ESSL) first developed the instrument in 2013 and revised it in 2018. In 2023, the full ASK survey was reviewed and nine questions were chosen that were thought to be relative to the CMU campus' current sustainability services and programming or information that students may come in contact with in their time at CMU.  

The assessment was a knowledge and experience-based census survey and therefore was administered to ALL students and faculty, staff, and students on the Pittsburgh campus. There were no indicators that any populations were overly or insufficiently represented within the survey responses. 

The majority of respondents got most questions correct, aside from the question asking “what is the most common cause of pollution of streams and rivers?” Most respondents (43%) answered “waste dumped by factories,” however, the true answer is “surface water running off yards, streets, paved lots, and farm fields.” Another important note from this ‘quiz’ is that 49% of students reported thinking that plastic tubs can be
recycled on campus although they cannot. Relatedly, 60% and 63% of students believe that batteries and electronic waste CANNOT be recycled on campus, even though they CAN.