Population Growth can exacerbate environmental issues by?

• A. Increasing demand for resources
• B. Reducing pollution
• C. Decreasing population density
• D. Improving health outcomes

Answer: (A)

Population growth increases the demand for resources, which can intensify environmental problems. More people need more food, water, energy, and land, so extraction and consumption scale up. This often leads to habitat destruction from expanded agriculture and development, greater waste and pollution from higher activity, and more greenhouse gas emissions from energy use and transportation. All of these pressures can amplify issues like water scarcity, soil degradation, deforestation, and climate change, especially if technology, efficiency, and policy responses don’t keep pace with growth.

The other options describe outcomes or conditions that would typically reduce or not directly worsen environmental stress (reducing pollution, lower population density, or improved health outcomes), so they don’t explain how population growth by itself would exacerbate environmental problems.