Final answer:
Scale is important in the poverty-environment relationship as it determines how global processes can impact local communities. It allows for an understanding of the complex interplay between these issues at different levels, enabling more effective policy-making and interventions targeted at various scales.
Step-by-step explanation:
The importance of scale when thinking about the relationship between poverty and environmental issues is significant, as it highlights how global processes affect local communities. Poverty and environmental degradation are intertwined issues that are influenced by global economic, social, and environmental forces. These issues cannot be addressed effectively without considering the scale at which they occur, since the impact of global actions on local environments and communities can be profound.
Understanding the scale of these problems allows for a more targeted approach to policy and intervention, potentially leading to more effective solutions. For instance, recognizing that poverty can be both a cause and an effect of environmental damage requires solutions that address the complexity of these challenges on both the local and global scales. Consequently, scale matters in understanding the poverty-environment relationship, making it clear that c) Scale matters in understanding how global processes affect local communities is the correct answer.