Effects of Living Standards on Environment
The extent of environmental degradation over the last half a century has raised concerns over the future of planet earth. Environmental experts and activists have set out strategies to reverse the current degradation pattern through policy and public awareness. Unsurprisingly, most of the causes of this degradation emanate from anthropogenic activities (MacDonald, 2010). As the modern man tries to improve the quality of their lives, they indulge in activities that hurt the natural environmental systems.
Many governments have prioritized economic growth, aimed at improving the living standards of their citizens. Most of these governments eventually revert to utilizing the available natural resources unsustainably thus exposing the environment (MacDonald, 2010). In many less developed countries whose industrial and technological advancement is relatively low, forests and other natural resources that are responsible for natural environmental management have been overexploited as they try to create wealth that improves the livelihood of their citizens (MacDonald, 2010). The overreaching of these resources has led to deforestation and desertification, as well as incidents such as oil spills, all of which are detrimental to the environment.
Most of the products that people use today to live better are produced industrially. The manufacturing industries emit pollutants that hurt the environment. At the same time, increased combustion of petroleum, more so in transport, where individuals prefer private cars to public transport, has been detrimental to the environment. Vehicles and household gadgets account for emission of greenhouse gases. Carbon footprinting determines the amount of greenhouse gases that are emitted through processes such as house heating, retrofitting, and other activities that improve the quality of human life (Birnik, 2013).
Evidently, improving the standards of living among the people all over the world has led to increased degradation of the environment. Anthropogenic activities are centered on human beings, and the increasing population continues to pressure the environment exposing it to further degradation.