Answer:
The increase in human population has impacted Earth's resources in several major ways:
• Increased demand for food, water, and shelter. A larger population requires massive increases in food, water, and living spaces which strains natural resources and infrastructure. Producing enough food alone is a significant challenge.
• Accelerated consumption of resources. As population grows, the use of resources like forests, minerals, fossil fuels also increases rapidly to meet demands. This accelerated depletion of resources threatens long term sustainability.
• Increased pollution. A bigger population produces more pollution, waste, emissions, and environmental degradation as a byproduct of energy usage, transportation, industrialization, and land/resource use. This pollution harms ecosystems and contaminates the air, water and land.
• Biodiversity loss. As natural habitats are destroyed or fragmented to enable more human use, many plant and animal species lose their homes and face a higher risk of extinction. Tropical rainforests, in particular, have been heavily impacted.
• Inequality. While resources are limited, population growth often exacerbates inequality in access to and distribution of resources. Poor or developing regions typically have the highest populations but fewest resources per capita.
• Migration and conflict. Shortages of resources in certain areas or regions may lead to migration, economic troubles, social unrest, and in some cases even resource conflicts or wars.
• Slower development. Extremely rapid population growth rates make it difficult for governments, organizations and societies to effectively manage development, improve standards of living, advance technology, and make other progress at an optimal pace. Slower, more stabilized population growth may enable a higher overall quality of life.
So in many profound and troubling ways, increased population size has created immense pressures on Earth's resources and made it more difficult to meet present and future needs in a sustainable manner. Most experts agree that slowing population growth is critical to ensuring resource security for future generations.
Step-by-step explanation: