Missouri Eco Quiz – Missouri Votes Conservation Education Fund

Test Your Missouri Eco-IQ

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If you care about safeguarding Missouri’s valuable natural resources, MVCEF believes it is important to understand the challenges facing our environment.

Just how much do you know about our state’s environmental issues? Take our short quiz and test your Missouri “eco-IQ.” Then learn how MVCEF and its sister organization Missouri Votes Conservation (MVC) work to protect Missouri’s environment.

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Congratulations - you have completed Test Your Missouri Eco-IQ.

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Thanks for taking our eco-IQ quiz. We hope you learned that Missouri’s environment needs some help. MVC and MVCEF work every day to improve our state’s environmental public policy, in areas like energy efficiency, water quality, parks protection and sustainable agriculture.

But our work wouldn’t be possible without the support of generous donors like you. Every dollar you donate will help MVC/MVCEF in our work. Whether it’s $10, $100 or $1,000, your donation will go a long way toward strengthening the voice of Missouri’s conservation community. Click here to visit our secure online donation page.

And thanks to a generous donor, MVCEF will receive $1 for every person who takes our quiz. So, spread the word by sending this link to your family and friends: www.mvc-ef.org/resources/missouri-eco-quiz/.

Thank you for helping strengthen the voice of Missouri’s conservation community.

Your answers are highlighted below.

Question 1

Where does Missouri rank among the 50 states in energy efficiency policies?

	Among the top six in the nation
	Middle of the pack
	Among the bottom six in the nation

Question 1 Explanation:

When it comes to wasting energy, Missouri is a (dubious) leader: In 2011, we were 44th in the nation in state energy efficiency rankings (down from 41st the previous year). Our state has long needed to increase the funding and availability of energy efficiency programs. These include policies to encourage energy-smart buildings, to allow industry to convert waste heat into electricity, and to incentivize utilities to invest in energy efficiency programs before building new power plants. At least 40 other states in the U.S. have such policies in place.

That’s why MVC has been working to enact legislation that improves Missouri’s energy efficiency policies.

Question 2

What percent of the food that Missourians eat is produced within our state (vs. brought in from other states or imported from other countries)?

	20%
	50%
	75%

Question 2 Explanation:

Although Missouri ranks second in the nation in the number of farms (108,000), the vast majority of the crops we grow here (like grains and soybeans) are sent out of state. So about 80% of the food we eat must be brought in from other states or countries. Not only does this situation threaten Missourians’ food security, but it also means we send the majority of our food dollars elsewhere, rather than spend them in-state.

That’s why MVC is working on policies that will build local food networks in Missouri, so we can better feed ourselves.

Question 3

How does Missouri’s state park system compare with that of other states?

	Among the top four in the nation
	Middle of the pack
	Among the bottom four in the nation

Question 3 Explanation:

Missouri is blessed with a jewel of a state parks system – so much so that our state parks have been ranked in the top four parks systems in the nation on six occasions! But sadly, our 85+ state parks face a $200 million backlog in repairs to infrastructure like trails, roads, bridges and buildings.

That’s why MVC is working on ways to fund these badly-needed fixes, so our parks will continue to serve Missouri citizens and wildlife, and will retain their rightful place among the elite park systems in the nation.

Question 4

What percent of Missouri’s streams and rivers are unprotected by state and federal authorities from pollution, runoff and other degradation?

	10%
	50%
	80%

Question 4 Explanation:

It may be hard to believe, but nearly 80 percent (150,000 miles) of waterways in Missouri – including headwater streams, many lakes, and intermittent bodies of water, etc. – carry the designation “unclassified.” (The state has yet to designate their use, as required by the federal Clean Water Act.) Without classification, these waters are not monitored for pollutants, meaning we can’t be sure they’re safe for fishing, swimming or other activities. (Missouri is the only state in the nation with such a huge backlog of classification for our waters.)

That’s why MVC is working with our partner groups to correct the deficiencies in our state water pollution enforcement and permitting system.

Question 5

Where does Missouri rank among the 50 states in the number of factory farms (CAFOs) that house hogs?

	Among the top 15 in the nation
	Middle of the pack
	Among the bottom 15 in the nation

Question 5 Explanation:

As the 7th largest hog producing state in the nation, Missouri’s 3,000 swine farms send many millions of hogs to market each year. Many of these are factory farms where the hogs are concentrated in large numbers, posing problems for our health and our environment (since one hog produces more fecal waste per day than 10 adult humans). A lax regulatory climate in Missouri encourages large out-of-state corporations to establish livestock factories here.

That’s why MVC is working to limit the toxic effects of factory farms, which not only pose a danger to our environment but also drain local communities of their financial health.

Question 6

Out of the 1,600 lobbyists who work in Missouri’s Capitol, how many work on behalf of preserving our natural resources and environment?

	Fewer than 5
	About 25
	More than 100

Question 6 Explanation:

The environment doesn’t have many friends in the halls of the state Capitol. Good lobbyists cost money, something that conservation and environmental groups don’t have a lot of. But well-heeled special interests like Big Ag, oil and coal producers, and utilities have money to hire multiple lobbyists.

MVC employs one of the few environmental lobbyists in Jefferson City, supported by contributions from our 12 partner conservation groups. We’d hire more if we had the money.

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There are 6 questions to complete.