Tragedy of the Commons: How Air Pollution Impacts the Commons

“Tragedy of the Commons”
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“Tragedy of the Commons”
Atmospheric pollution has been called a “Tragedy of the Commons.” In particular, Garrett Hardin introduced the “Tragedy of the Commons,” which refers to a situation where environmental resources, the air in the scenario at hand, have been exploited and overused, leading to pollution that poses significant risks to everyone. Hardin says that some human problems are called “no technical solution problems” (Hardin, 1968). These are the issues that cannot be solved technically, such as air pollution. For instance, since the population is growing exponentially, there is no way that one can regulate the amount of air used by everyone. The paper focuses on how air pollution impacts the commons and major events where air resources are recognized as a commons needing protection.
Air pollution is a significant problem for the commons. Specifically, in a finite world, only a finite population can be sustained to avoid resources being depleted. As the world population has been rapidly increasing so is the need for clean air. However, organisms require a source of energy, such as food, for them to live (Hardin, 1968). In that light, as the population grows, means of food production ought to be maximized to have enough food for all. That is where the primary issue of air pollution occurs that affects the commons. As Hardin says, the maximization of energy acquisition leads to the problem of dissipation. Besides, the atmosphere is open to all. People engage in all the activities they want freely. However, some of these human activities pollute the atmosphere. For example, some individuals are operating factories that release greenhouse gases, and others are cutting down trees. These activities adversely affect the air quality, but they are uncontrollable. People need factories to manufacture products they need for daily use, and they require timber and other tree products to make shelters. The act of deforestation and the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere lead to the inevitableness of destiny since they influence the quality of air. As the manufacturers continue to maximize their production to provide enough commodities to the increasing population, they proceed to contaminate the atmosphere. Additionally, the growing population needs more shelter, meaning that more trees are cut down. In the long-term, the consequence is air pollution that affects the commons.
Currently, despite climate change and global warming, many people are engaging in activities that cause adverse impacts on the air. The commons are suffering every day from air contamination. Overpopulation has led to the overutilization of available natural resources without regulation (Robinson, 2021). For instance, nothing has been done to control the problem of overpopulation regardless of the finite resources in the world. Individuals continue to give birth every day, which is something good but has adverse consequences on the existence of humanity. Indeed, it appears as if everyone is locked into a system that makes people want to maximize their ...