With reference to 'Carrying Capacity of Environment', which of the following statements is/are correct?

Question

With reference to 'Carrying Capacity of Environment', which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. The rate of resource extraction should remain above the rate of resource generation.

2. Generation of waste should remain within the absorption capacity of environment.

Select the correct answer from the code given below:

1. A. Only 2 (Correct answer)
2. B. Neither 1 nor 2
3. C. Both 1 and 2
4. D. Only 1

Correct Answer

Option A — Only 2

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Only 2.

Key Points

• Statement 1 is incorrect. For an environment to stay within its carrying capacity, the rate of resource extraction must remain at or below the rate of resource regeneration — never above it. Extraction exceeding regeneration is precisely what causes resource depletion.
• Statement 2 is correct. The generation of waste must remain within the absorption capacity of the environment; beyond that point, waste accumulates as pollution.
• Only the second statement is right, giving option (a).

Additional Information

• These two conditions together define environmental sustainability: harvest no faster than nature replenishes, and emit no faster than nature absorbs.
• The four functions of the environment are: it supplies resources, it assimilates waste, it sustains life by providing genetic and biodiversity resources, and it provides aesthetic services.
• Violation of carrying capacity produces the "tragedy of the commons", described by Garrett Hardin (1968) — individually rational use of a shared resource leads to its collective ruin.