unit 5.1 apes Tragedy of the commons

Tragedy of the commons

Individuals will use shared/publix resources in their own self interest, degrading them

Example of degradation

Overgrazed land, overfishing, water and air pollution, overuse of ground water

Negative consequence of overfishing

Can lead to fishery collapse (population crash) loss of income and starvation

Consequences of air pollution from coal power plants

Can lead to bronchitis, asthma, increased healthcare costs

Pesticide use on farms consequences

Runoff from farms can contaminate drinking water

Externalities

negative costs associated with human actions, that aren’t accounted for in the price (unintended side-effects).

Manages rangelands in western US by
collecting grazing fees from ranchers,
evaluating land, and repairing effects of
overgrazing

BLM (Bureau
of Land
Management)

Private land ownership (individual or gov.)
How to Solve the TOC

Fees or taxes for use
○ Ex: permit system for grazing, logging
● Taxes, fines, criminal charges for pollution
or shared air/soil/water resources

Clean Air Act

U.S. federal law that regulates air emissions to protect human health and the environment from pollution

Clean water act

enacted to restore and maintain the quality of the nation's waters by regulating the discharge of pollutants into surface waters.

Safe drinking water act

the main U.S. federal law (1974, amended) giving the EPA power to set national health-based standards for drinking water quality, regulating contaminants in public water systems (tap water, rivers, lakes, groundwater) to protect public health from waterborne diseases