"A degraded environment leads to a scramble for scarce resources and may culminate in _______. As resources become scarcer or are squandered-whether they be land, water, hydrocarbons, timber, or minerals-some will seek to control them by excluding others. Consequently, the excluded seek justice and dignity through whatever means they can, often resulting in conflict. In fact, most conflicts in the world today relate in some way to competition over the access, control, and distribution of resources. Sometimes these conflicts take form within a state's own borders as local disputes over water, grazing ground, and agricultural land. Others are international conflicts, such as those in the Middle East. Almost without exception, these conflicts are over the distribution of these limited resources: who will own them, who will control them, and who will be excluded."

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The passage discusses how a degraded environment and the resulting scarcity of resources can lead to conflicts over their control and distribution, fitting the description of "poverty and conflict" rather than the other options provided.

"A Degraded Environment Leads to a Scramble for Scarce Resources