car-dependency lifestyles that pose a threat to the carbon footprint
Current societies are driven by industrialization; thus, these societies exploit the use of fossil fuels. More significantly, developed countries lead the chart on fossil fuel consumption, endangering not only their lives but those from developing countries as well. In the United States, for instance, the carbon footprint is relatively high as a result of the lifestyle and energy consumption levels experienced in the country (“Climate Change”). China also records a high carbon footprint due to the production of consumer goods that are sold globally. These developed countries, among others, emit large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The challenge, therefore, remains whether the Earth is capable of sustaining and managing these emissions. Societies and urbanization have led people to adopt car-dependency lifestyles that pose a threat to the carbon footprint. More and more people opt to live in the suburbs and drive to work every day.
Hufnagel et al. note that human activities and overpopulation are impacting the social sustainability paradigm, and overpopulation demands the use of more non-renewable energy, more living and farming space, and more emissions that increase the carbon footprint. These activities have disrupted the natural ecosystem that has existed for many centuries, posing a more significant threat to climate change and global warming. While the blame is placed on developed countries, developing countries are also aspiring to reach the level of industrialization as their developed counterparts to achieve economic prowess, unknowing of the significant damage these giant economies are posing to climate change. Due to the influx of high population growth, households also increase the carbon footprint in the residential sector.
Indeed, overpopulation and climate change are also attributed to deforestation. According to Boas (31), rainforests play a significant role in storing the carbon dioxide humans produce and replacing it with pure oxygen in the atmosphere. However, as populations increases, people cut down more trees to create land for settlement and farming. The consequences of deforestation mean releasing more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Through deforestation and a high percentage of carbon footprint, the atmosphere is rapidly warming up, posing adverse climatic changes. Nevertheless, global warming directly impacts weather patterns, leading to droughts, extreme heatwaves, floods, and other unexpected weather patterns (“Climate change”).