What is the tragedy of the commons? Give an example of a common ...

[student77]

What is the tragedy of the commons? Give an example of a common pool resource, and describe ways of protecting such resources.
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Which of the greenhouse gases are the most significant contributors to global warming? How do they work?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

[Sammyo]

Answer to Question 1

The tragedy of the commons is where a resource is owned by many people in common or by no one and the resource is used by each individual to maximize his/her benefit. Resource exploitation is expected when each individual maximizes his or her benefit without regard to the ecosystem's ability to sustain the level of use. Examples of a common pool resource are federal grasslands, coast and open-ocean fisheries, groundwater, nationally owned woodlands and forests, and the atmosphere. One arrangement that can mitigate the tragedy is private ownership. Where private ownership is unworkable, the alternative is to regulate access to the commons. Regulation should allow for (1) protection, so that the benefits derived from the commons can be sustained, (2) fairness in access rights, and (3) mutual consent of the regulated.

Answer to Question 2

Carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, and CFCs and other halocarbons are the most significant contributors to global warming. They work by adding to the Earth's atmospheric blanket. When this insulating blanket is thicker, heat doesn't escape the Earth to space as easily and the Earth warms. Most of these
gases are natural and contribute to an important insulating atmosphere. Without them, the Earth would be too cold to sustain life. When the blanket grows thicker because of human additions, the Earth warms beyond average temperatures.