Arrange the following stages in the order in which they came about:
(A) The demand for environmental resources and services was much less than their supply.
(B) Population explosion and the advent of the industrial revolution.
(C) The demand for resources went beyond the rate of regeneration of the resources.
(D) The issues of waste generation and pollution became critical.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → (A), (B), (C), (D)
The supply-demand relationship for environmental resources turned round in stages.
(A) The demand for environmental resources and services was much less than their supply. — This was the position in the early days of civilisation, so there were no environmental problems.
(B) Population explosion and the advent of the industrial revolution. — These changed things.
(C) The demand for resources went beyond the rate of regeneration of the resources. — Growing production and consumption pushed demand beyond regeneration.
(D) The issues of waste generation and pollution became critical. — With supply now limited by overuse and misuse, these issues have become critical today.
NCERT (2026-27): “7.2 Environment — Definition and Functions … In the early days when civilisation just began, or before this phenomenal increase in population, and before countries took to industrialisation, the demand for environmental resources and services was much less than their supply. …” “But with population explosion and with the advent of industrial revolution to meet the growing needs of the expanding population, things changed. The result was that the demand for resources for both production and consumption went beyond the rate of regeneration of the resources; the pressure on the absorptive capacity of the environment increased tremendously — this trend continues even today. Thus what has happened is a reversal of supply-demand relationship for environmental quality — we are now faced with increased demand for environmental resources and services but their supply is limited due to overuse and misuse. Hence the environmental issues of waste generation and pollution have become critical today.” |