I haven't really thought too much about the tragedy of the commons since I took the AP Environmental exam senior year of high school. Unfortunately though, I was blind sided by it the other day. Almost every Sunday, I go with my friends Patrick and Sara to Audubon Park to people watch and enjoy the weather before it gets too cold. This past Sunday, however, we got to our favorite bench over looking the pond and were confronted with more trash than I've ever seen combined at this particular bench! There were empty cups, crumpled up papers, and even a large paper bag filled with empty beer bottles. To make matters worse, there were several hundred (yes, several hundred) cigarette butts within the five foot radius of the bench EVEN THOUGH there is a cigarette disposal literally two feet from the bench.
I've only ever heard of the Tragedy of the Commons in abstract examples in oceans and other places to which I've never been, but being put in a real life example has made me step back and think about how I'm affecting the commons.
Jordan I completely understand your frustration with the trash situation. I have never been able to understand why people would throw something on the ground when a trashcan (which serves a pretty self explanatory purpose) is within walking distance. Loyola has a lot of smokers (including me) and they should have the right to choose to smoke, but they should also have respect for the campus and not throw them on the ground. School definitely needs to invest in more of those cigarette disposal can things.
ReplyDeleteCigarette butts are awful. I get the feeling that most people are under the impression they filters are made out of cotton so they would be biodegradable. Wrong. Most cigarette filters are composed of cellulose acetate, a form of plastic that can persist in the environment as long as other forms of plastic.
ReplyDeleteOn a side (and less serious) note, in Ireland trash cans are called wheely-bins which I thought was funny because their main purpose is to hold trash, not to have wheels.