__(1)___ is the term used to explain how humans exploit earth’s surface for agricultural, industrial, residential, recreational or other purposes. Growing population and industrial activity have increased potential problems such as ___(2)___ and destruction of wildlife habitats.
The idea of responsibly using the land to find a balance between meeting human needs while protecting earth’s resources is called ___(3)___. On the other hand, causing severe damage to the environment is called ___(4)___. Examples of human activities that can lead to this damage are uncontrolled clearing of land for grazing and ___(5)___.
Serious economic problems in many Latin American countries have pressured governments to turn to ___(6)___ of land resources to quickly solve some of their problems. For example, the Brazilian government hopes to reduce the money they owe others by increasing trade with foreign countries. To do this they have improved the ___(7)___ by building roads that make it easier for developers to harvest tropical hardwoods. Of course, this has a great impact on the environment and the ___(8)___ people who live in the Amazon Basin.
The real cost seems to be to the environment. Cutting down forests reduces the amount of ___(9)___in the air, which also increases the amount of heat that goes into the atmosphere. The overall effect of global warming, added to the loss of forest cover, can create a dangerous threat of ___(10)___ and mudslides. An increase of such disasters has already been seen in many parts of Latin America.
The environmental outlook for Latin America includes some of the same problems that affect other parts of the world. Land use is a complicated topic to consider when trying to meeting the needs of a growing population and still protect the world’s natural
Entry 1: Slash and Burn agriculture
Entry 2: pollution
Entry 3: sustainable development
Entry 4: unsustainable land use
Entry 5: land use
Entry 6: rapid development
Entry 7: crisis
Entry 8: indigenous
Entry 9: moisture
Entry 10: flooding