A widely known article, “The Tragedy of Commons,” written by Garrett Hardin, is used in many fields to analyze human behavior. The tragedy is an economic problem that occurs when individuals exploit a common or shared resource. As a result, the demand overwhelms supply, and the resource becomes unavailable to other groups. Individuals neglect the well-being of the group in pursuit of personal gain without regard for others; individuals benefit in the short-term but the group loses in the long run. This situation has implications for the use of resources, sustainability and the depletion of nonrenewable resources. And all of these factors coalesce in the grand catastrophe our generation faces: global warming — the increase of Earth’s average surface temperature due to a ton of emissions or pollutants, like carbon dioxide emissions from the production and incineration of plastic bags.
Understanding Hardin’s article sheds light on how an individual’s behavior affects other people. He argues when individuals think of resources as common, they can then recognize the need to manage responsibly over these resources. Better management over “common” resources prevents the degradation of our environment because the freedoms and diverse interests of everyday people are better preserved and nurtured. What people consider when they use common resources is not only for short-term benefits, but also for long-term benefits: People begin to naturally prioritize sustainability.
Consider water: Every human being needs it, and thus it’s in everyone’s best interest to manage the use of water responsibly and preserve it for as long as possible.
In my view, the consequences of not thinking this way are too dangerous: We certainly do not want floods or droughts, hurricanes or other storms, rising sea levels or any further melting of the glaciers. There are no other solutions except properly sustaining our environment. And practicing an environmentally sustainable lifestyle isn’t as far-fetched as you might think: Think of plastic bags.
Most people — hopefully — understand the more we use plastic bags, the more our environment suffers. The problem begins when individuals place too much responsibility on others. Most people convince themselves other people will act sustainably and use alternative bags, justifying their own use of plastic bags. But what happens when even slight majorities of people think this way? In the long run, we may not avoid disasters from environmental impacts because we’ve already done enough damage as it is over the past century.
Fortunately, some supermarkets have already taken matters into their own hands for you. Trader Joe’s, for instance, a neighborhood grocery store, uses paper bags to reduce the use of plastics. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., an American multinational retail giant, has used recycled plastic bags that have written on them, ”Please return to participating store for recycling.” Dollar Tree, Inc., an American chain of discount variety stores, has the same idea in its plastic bags.
But how many people actually know this information or care enough to use this information to prevent the environmental impacts? Every year, more than 500 billion plastic bags are distributed, and less than 10 percent of those bags are recycled. They are typically made of polyethylene and can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade in landfills that produce harmful emissions.
It’s very simple: If we want to continue using this space on the Earth we’ve been given and live out our lives as we wish, we need to act. In fact, we’ve needed to act for generations, and while we’re making some progress, we’re nowhere near where we need to be. Each of you can contribute to progress or the natural lazy, dismissive attitude toward global warming that our culture promotes. Which path do you want to promote?
Hermu Dananto is a UF forestry resources and conservation masters student.
