AP Environmental Science / Unit 5: Land and Water Use
5.1 The Tragedy of the Commons
Notes
When a shared resource is open to all, individuals acting in self-interest can overuse it and ruin it for everyone (overgrazing, overfishing, air pollution).
- Solutions: regulation, quotas, private ownership, fees.
Practice
Overfishing in international waters is an example of:
A shared resource overused.
A solution to the tragedy of the commons:
Regulation.
The tragedy of the commons happens because:
Individual gain, shared loss.
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