Final answer:
If people populate an area not previously inhabited, the amount of available resources decreases due to increased consumption, which could lead to environmental crisis and population crash if a sustainable carrying capacity is not achieved. Resource scarcity can trigger changes in human behavior, including migration or exploring new frontiers for resources.
Step-by-step explanation:
When people move into an area where people didn’t previously live, the amount of available resources typically decreases. The human population growth exacts a toll on the Earth as more people consume more environmental resources, leading to potential depletion. Key resources such as forests, fresh water supplies, and agricultural soils are most immediately affected, becoming overtaxed, which can have serious consequences.
As individuals migrate and settle in new areas, they start to use local resources for building, farming, and consumption. As the population density increases, the demand for these resources grows, often outpacing the natural regeneration rate of these resources, leading to scarcity. If the consumption rate continues to exceed the natural replenishment rate, it can lead to an environmental crisis and an eventual population crash, unless a sustainable carrying capacity is established.Human societies respond to resource availability by shifting their practices, such as moving to different areas, changing subsistence strategies, or exploring new frontiers like space for additional resources. However, the likelihood of space colonization providing relief from terrestrial resource scarcity is small due to the slow rate at which it could happen compared to natural population growth on Earth.