Studying causes of environmental poverty

Preservation of the environment is not possible without improving the quality of life of those whose fight for survival forces them to live in ways that harm the environment. While industries and overconsumption practices pollute the environment, in often overpopulated rural areas poor people are forced to destroy forests, overuse soil and deplete water supplies simply to satisfy the basic needs of food, fuel and shelter. Poverty is as great a polluter as is inappropriate industrialization.