CHAPTER 1

• In a small village, there is a local fish pond that the villagers depend on for food. The pond starts off with a dozen fish, and the fish reproduce - for every two fish, there will be one baby added each night.
• To maximize food supply from the fish pond


  1. Catch one fish each day

  2. Leave eight fish to reproduce overnight

  3. The pond will be fully restocked with twelve fish the next day
• If anyone takes more than one fish, the number of reproductive pairs drops, and the population won't be able to bounce back. Eventually, the fish in the lake will be gone, leaving all four villagers to starve.
• Tragedy of the commons


  A classic problem where many individuals all share a limited resource, and short-term self-interest leads to overuse and depletion of the resource, resulting in negative outcomes for everyone
• Economist William Forster Lloyd first described the tragedy of the commons in a discussion of the overgrazing of cattle on village common areas

  1833
• Ecologist Garrett Hardin revived the concept of the tragedy of the commons


  More than 100 years later
• Tragedy of the commons


  • It provides an opportunity for an individual to benefit him or herself while spreading out any negative effects across the larger population
  • It pits short-term self-interest against the common good
• Tragedy of the commons


  • Overuse of antibiotics
  • Pollution from coal-fired power plants
  • Littering
  • Water shortages
  • Deforestation
  • Traffic jams
  • Purchase of bottled water
• Human civilization has proven it's capable of solving the tragedy of the commons by forming social contracts, making communal agreements, electing governments, and passing laws.
• When the tragedy of the commons applies, what's good for all of us is good for each of us.
• The earth supports society which is driven by economy
• Not all countries on the planet impact the environment in the same way
• The northern hemisphere produces more carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels compared to the southern hemisphere
• Carbon dioxide levels drop in the summer


  Leaves come out and do photosynthesis, taking in carbon dioxide
• Carbon dioxide levels increase in the fall


  Leaves start to fall
• Industrialization


  Leads to exponential growth in population
• Factors impacting the environment


  • Population
  • Affluence (consumption per person)
  • Destructive technology
• IPAT equation


  Measures the impact of population, affluence, and destructive technology
• Ecological footprint


  Measures how much of the earth is needed to support industry
• Large economy


  Consumes resources and destroys habitat
• Small economy in certain countries


  Can lead to disease and hunger
• Burundi


  • Population of 9 million, average income of $910 per year, low impact on environment
• United Arab Emirates (UAE)


  • Population of 9 million, average income 50 times higher than Burundi, high impact on environment
• Burundi's ecological footprint is less than 1 global hectare per person
• UAE's ecological footprint is about 12 times that of Burundi
• As countries develop


  They move up in development index and across to have a larger ecological footprint
• The Earth's biocapacity is 2.1 global hectares per person
• Many countries exceed the Earth's biocapacity
• Increases in greenhouse gases can cause high extinction rates, especially in areas with many species like Ecuador