University of California, Santa Barbara
AC-6: Sustainability Literacy Assessment

Please see the attachment included in this credit for the full list of questions. Some example questions include:

Q2 To the best of your knowledge, which of the following gases in the atmosphere trap heat from the Earth’s surface? (Check any that apply)
Carbon Dioxide
Nitrogen
Hydrogen
Water vapor
Methane

Q3B To the best of your knowledge, which of the following energy sources are renewable? (Check any that apply)
Oil
Natural gas [Electricity generated from natural gas]
Wind [Electricity generated from wind]
Solar power [Electricity generated from solar power/cells]
Hydroelectric power [Electricity generated from hydroelectric dams]

Q4 To the best of your knowledge, which of the following natural resources are renewable? (Check any that apply)
Iron
Wood
Plastic

Text For the following questions, please select what you feel is the best answer. If you are unsure, please make your best guess.

Q5 Which of the following terms refers to the idea that humans value goods or resources that will be received in the future at a lesser value than goods or resources that are available today?
Discounting
Pessimism
Rate of return
Interest

Q6 One barrier to policy progress on the issue of climate change is that:
The impacts will likely be negligible
This issue occurs only in certain parts of the world
There is a lack of scientific consensus on the issue
Most of the negative effects will occur in the distant future

Q7 A cap-and-trade system limits carbon emissions by:
Placing a limit on how much each factory can pollute.
Placing a limit on the total amount of emissions.
Placing a set price on the emission of each unit of carbon.
Placing a limit on the number of new factories that can be built.

Q8 A group of fishing boat owners share equal access to a common fishing area and are dependent upon it for their livelihoods. For each individual, it is economically rational to:
Limit the number of fish he or she catches to ensure there will be fish to catch in the future.
Catch all the fish he or she can to maximize the profit.
Limit the number of fish he or she catches to ensure there everyone gets an equal share.
Catch all the fish he or she can to eliminate the competition.

Q9 A group of fishing boat owners share equal access to a common fishing area and are dependent upon it for their livelihoods. For the group, it is economically rational to:
Limit the number of fish they catch to ensure there will be fish to catch in the future.
Catch all the fish they can to maximize their profit.
Limit the number of fish they catch to ensure there everyone gets an equal share.
Catch all the fish they can to eliminate the competition.

Q10 Which uses the most energy in an average American home each year?
Lights
Heating water
Heating and cooling rooms
Refrigeration

Q11 What do most scientists believe is the maximum ppm for atmospheric CO2 if we wish to stabilize the Earth’s temperature in the long term?
275 ppm
350 ppm
400 ppm
450 ppm

Q12 Current global climate change is:
Caused mostly by human activities.
Caused equally by both human activities and natural changes.
Caused mostly by natural changes in the environment.
None of the above because global climate change isn’t happening.

Q13 An ecosystem’s “carrying capacity” refers to:
The amount of land currently in agricultural production.
The number of living things the system can sustain indefinitely.
The minimum number of species an ecosystem needs to survive.
The amount of nutrients water a certain temperature can hold.

Q14 Climate change disproportionately impacts people earning a low income because:
Infrastructure in developing countries can be less resilient to storms.
People earning a low income have fewer resources to rebuild or relocate after flooding.
People earning a low income are more likely to live in areas threatened by flooding, water scarcity and/or vector-borne disease.
All of the above

Q15 Climate change has led to more powerful hurricanes because:
Climate change has not lead to more powerful hurricanes.
Warmer air mixing with cooler water produces more extreme hurricanes.
Melting glaciers result in more rain water in hurricanes.
Ocean water temperatures are increasing which increases the strength of hurricanes.

Q16 The “greenhouse effect” refers to:
The response of the Earth’s climate to gases in the atmosphere that trap heat.
The Earth’s protective ozone layer.
Pollution that causes acid rain.
How plants grow.

Q17 Which one of the following causes ocean acidification?
Absorption of carbon dioxide by the ocean
Chemical spills in the ocean
Warmer ocean temperatures
Natural seepages of oil and other chemicals

Q18 Which one of the following is not an example of an externality?
A fine a company has to pay for pollution
Harm to a worker's health
The cost of waste disposal of a commercial by-product
Harm to community members' health due to air pollution

Q19 "Sustainability" with regard to natural resources means:
Using natural resources as slowly as possible.
Only using as much as is replaced by natural processes.
Not introducing new technology too quickly.
Discovering new resources to allow maximum economic growth.

It was developed by a group of graduate students at UC Santa Barbara, Colin Kuehl, Aaron Sparks, and Heather Hodges, under the advisement of a faculty member, Eric RAN Smith and with feedback from the UCSB Sustainability Program in 2014.

The survey is administered as a component of our every other year undergraduate sustainability survey. This is sent our through our Institutional Research, Planning, & Assessment Office who generates a representative sample of students for us to survey. The representative sample they generate matches the demographics of the student population on campus.

We found that most students had some level of sustainability awareness. That said, most students only performed well in one aspect of the survey and not in all aspects of the survey. For example, the economists did well on questions that related to their area of expertise (such as the tragedy of the commons), but did not do as well on the science based questions and vice versa.