Human beings have become increasing controlling and powerful over the Earth and its resources over that last 10,000 years. With the advent of agriculture, we began to change the land. Then came the time of the great Industrial Revolution, where the world began to see an increase in population and with that came major changes in the atmosphere.
Urban development causes a change in which we interact with the environment, such as: consumption of food, water, energy and the land itself. With an increase in population, an increase in food production has to happen. Thus, changing agricultural production methods that, in alternative ways, made it possible to generate surplus crops to feed a growing non-agricultural population. More crop production in fact means more use of fertilizer which increases run off pollution. Additionally, with soaring urbanization, energy consumption is much higher due to transportation development. According to Barbara Boyle Torrey (2004), today we have a car for every two people in the United States. If that became the norm, in 2050 there would be 5.3 billion cars in the world, all using energy.
Some Urban Environmental Threats are:
-Deforestation
-Inadequate water
-Flash flooding due to deforestation
-Water & Air Pollution
Solutions:
-Plant and incorporate green spaces
-Reduce air pollution by implementing effective transportation
-Involve local community in decision making
-Provide proper waste disposal methods
