HOW HUMAN BEHAVIOUR CAN BE A THREAT TO ENVIRONMENT

The environment has a remarkable ability to sustain itself. However, human behaviors disrupt the natural environment and threaten environmental sustainability. Learn how population growth, depletion of resources and pollution threaten nature.

Population at large

Though you might be reluctant to call the birth of children one of the human behaviors that threaten environmental sustainability, we see that the rapidly growing human population puts many demands on the natural environment.

The world population has exploded over the past century. In the year 1900, the total world population was less than two billion people. By the year 2000, that number had increased to nearly seven billion, and this is only the beginning. According to reports from the United Nations, the world population is expected to reach a peak at about 9.2 billion people later in the 21st century. The consequences for the natural environment are easy to see when you consider the simple fact that more people equals a higher demand for food, water and energy. 

If we look more deeply at the threat that a growing population holds over the environment, we see that there will be an increased need for housing, which could result in the clearing of more land for living space. Also, more people could very easily contribute to the depletion of natural resources and increased pollution. We will explore these threats more closely as we move through our lesson.