7.1 Background
Human settlementsThe places where people live, including cities such as Canberra, as well as towns and remote communities. are important environments. They are where most Australians spend the majority of their time. But human settlementsThe places where people live, including cities such as Canberra, as well as towns and remote communities. put pressure on the rest of the environment. They use resources such as water, energy, land and materials, and release pollutants into the air, land and water.
This is why it is important to regularly monitor, measure and consider how we are affecting the environment. This chapter assesses the impacts of the ACT’s human settlementsThe places where people live, including cities such as Canberra, as well as towns and remote communities. on the environment, examining the ACT’s ecological footprintThe impact of a person or community on the environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of natural resources., carbon footprintThe amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases released into the air as a result of our daily activities., energy and transport use. For information on waste in the ACT see Circular economy and waste, and for information on the ACT’s water resources see Water.
