Our Impact On The Environment

692 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Difference between renewable and non renewable energy

The Tragedy of the Commons has been used to explain how human interference has resulted in negative outcomes for the natural environment. Those who maintain resources by a community controlled basis seem to care much more about who else uses them. The people are worried about how much of the resource they will be able to benefit from and how much they can have which makes them more concerned about the possibility of someone else overusing the limited resource (diamond, et al, 2007). One person won’t want another person to have open and uncontrolled access to the same resource that they want. A major cause of the “Tragedy” is due to a lack of information. Several people who use the common resource may not know where it originally came from and may assume that it is limitless. Another cause is that people may fear that the shared resource is being overused and may become depleted, leaving everyone fearful followed by everyone trying to get what might be left, resulting in even more damage.

Fossil fuels are a non-renewable source of energy, which include oil, coal, and natural gas (Ecomi, 2008). When all the fossil fuels in the Earth are used up, they cannot be replaced. They are produced out of decomposed plants and animals that date back more than six-hundred million years (Bloch, 2009). Currently, fossil fuels are being used very quickly. Almost every modern living function depends on the use of fossil fuels. Without it, the world would have many reparations. People don’t realize how much they are wasting and how much damage it really is doing to the atmosphere and what it could do to us in the future. It is a huge energy source, and almost fifty percent of power generation plants of the USA use coal as their main source of...

... middle of paper ...

....6) Tragedy of the Commons.

Retrieved Feb. 6, 2011 from http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/resources/oceanography-book/tragedyofthecommons.htm

Mukherjee, B. (2010) Fossil Fuels Pros and Cons. Retrieved Feb.5, 2011 from

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/fossil-fuels-pros-and-cons.html

Greenhalgh, R. (2002) Fossil fuel and its impact on the environment. Retrieved Feb. 6, 2011

from http://www.essortment.com/all/fossilfuelimpa_rhxu.htm

Ecopedia. (2008) Fossil Fuels. Retrieved Feb. 8, 2011 from

http://www.ecomii.com/ecopedia/fossil-fuels

Young, C. (2005, April 15) The Environment and Science: Social Impact and Interaction.

Retrieved Feb. 7, 2011. 151-153

Bloch, M. (2009, July 14) Fossil Fuel Fast Facts. Retrieved Feb 7, 2011 from

http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/333/1/Fossil-Fuel-Fast-Facts.html

Show More
Related

  • Baby Boomer Generation's Impact On The Environment

    578 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Baby Boomer generation and the time period has a lasting effect on the economy and the environment. The baby boom for the United States was similar to other countries after World War II. Several economies also blossomed, but overall with very little care for the environment. After World War II the use of industrial made chemicals increased in popularity throughout the United States and the world (The “New Environmentalism” OF THE 1960S). The chemical DDT was originally being used widespread to eradicate disease vectors, such as mosquito carrying Malaria ("The DDT Story."). DDT influenced more than just mosquitoes as it had lasting effects in the environment where it noticeably bioaccumulate in the food chain and caused high mortality in young bald eagles ("The DDT Story."). Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring released to the public in 1962 which is the time period in which environmental health and human health were connected (The “New

    Read More

  • Air Pollution In Garret Hardin's The Tragedy Of The Commons

    1963 Words  | 4 Pages

    In his 1968 essay, The Tragedy of the Commons, Garret Hardin addresses the problem with overpopulation and it’s eventual toll on our planet’s resources in a scenario where the individual interest clashes with the collective interest. Self-interest only serves the good of an individual while collective interest is meant to serve the good of everyone in the society. In his essay, he describes overpopulation as a tragedy of the commons because as population grows exponentially, resources only grow statically, and this will result in the depletion of our resources. When a resourc...

    Read More

  • The Lorax Tragedy

    672 Words  | 2 Pages

    The tragedy of the commons is a very unfortunate and very real thing. It occurs whenever everyone takes a little bit of a limited resource repeatedly. The result of this is that all the resources are gone. In The Lorax, the Once-ler cuts down all the truffula trees in the area to make thneeds (The Lorax). When all the trees are gone, the business shuts down and all the animals are forced to leave (The Lorax). The factories polluted the air and made the area unsafe to live in (The Lorax). This is a perfect example of a tragedy of the commons. A similar event happened in Easter Island. Tribes started inhabiting the area and began using the trees to build houses and eat food from them (Easter Island). Eventually all the trees are gone, and the society resorted to cannibalism and war because there was no food (Easter Island). Garrett Hardin states in his essay that maximimizing population does not maximize goods (Hardin). In this essay, both tragedies of the commons will be compared and will be examined to see how they could have been prevented.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Climate Change

    1093 Words  | 3 Pages

    From the home to factories, families and industries are reliant on the use of nonrenewable fossil fuels to feed the needs of the everyday human. Fossil fuels are the main source of energy over clean, renewable sources such as the use of wind, solar energy, and water to power our homes, schools, and industries. In fact, about 85% of energy use comes from fossils fuels. The main reason being that using fossil fuels is cheaper than wind and solar energy. “For nearly two centuries, fossil fuels have been the cheapest source of energy” and widely abundant (Marburger, A global framework: international aspects of climate change). However, overtime fossil fuels will disappear due to the lack of time to replenish itself with the human races rapid use of it. Despite its current status of availability, there are many controversial issue in using fossil fuels; the most prominent issue being that it is the cause of rapid climate

    Read More

  • Impacts of the Human Ecological Footprint

    761 Words  | 2 Pages

    There is no hesitation when it comes to whether humans impact the global environment. However, it is questioned in whether human’s ecological footprint is either negatively or positively impacting. In clear perspective, humans share from both sides and their ecological footprint is noted towards whether it will benefit or harm the environment around them. Topics such as overpopulation, pollution, biomagnification, and deforestation are all human impacted and can harm the environment, but some include benefits into helping the world around us with solutions to their problems.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Institutional Analysis And Development Framework

    914 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ostrom, Elinor. 1990. Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

    Read More

  • Consequentialist And Categorical Reasoning In Michael Sandel's Moral

    1918 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Tragedy of the Commons “is a problem that occurs when individuals exploit a shared resource to the extent that demand overwhelms supply and the resource becomes unavailable to some or all” (Wigmore, 2013, August). He explains if by using an example of herdsman caring for their cattle in a common land owned by others. Everyone in the land have the same number of cattle they are allowed to have. If one herdsman was being self-centered things and had more cattle because he was thinking of his needs would then damage the community by “overloading it, erosion set in, weeds take over, and he loses the use of the pasture. He would just worry about his goals now and not the overall outcome which not only affected him, but the other herdsmen as well. (Hardin, 1974,

    Read More

  • Fossil Fuels vs. Renewable Energy

    1889 Words  | 4 Pages

    Over the last two centuries, humanity has become increasingly reliant on fossil fuels. Over that time, the consequences of constantly burning fossil fuels have accumulated into a threat to industrialized cities. The burning of fossil fuels causes acid rain to shower on cities and ecosystems around the world, tormenting their inhabitants. The increasingly deadly pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels has caused the deaths of many people around the world by causing respiratory problems. Not only has the pollution worsened, but the supply of fossil fuels is not limitless – as humanity’s reliance increases the supply decreases, and that is all the more reason to break humanity’s reliance on fossil fuels. Fossil fuels should be replaced with cleaner alternatives because fossil fuels cause environmental hazards, are non-renewable, and are detrimental to human health.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Coal Pollution

    951 Words  | 2 Pages

    The effects of using fossil fuels are starker than their timelines. Humans release approximately two billion metric tons of pollution annually, mostly from the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas; this pollution is destroying our environment and the ozone layer. Ozone and smog damage forests, crops, and other plant life, and reduces visibility. Other pollutants have the same

    Read More

  • Human Impact on the Environment

    1252 Words  | 3 Pages

    Human Impact on the Environment Introduction = == == == ==

    Read More

  • Essay On Common Pool Resources

    1584 Words  | 4 Pages

    Common pool resources have long stood as the obstacle for human’s domain over the Earth. Humans have successfully conquered many frontiers, whether it has been the vast and almost endless open oceans or the dry and arid deserts across the world. With persistent exploration, discovery, and through new science advancements, humans have learned to not only become familiar with these new frontiers but have learned to exploit them. But when it came to utilizing these frontiers, common pool resources often created problems for anyone who sought to control it. “Common pool resources,” according to the encyclopedia, are resources made available to all for consumption and to which access can be limited only by high cost. Whether people realize the effects of this term or not, the availability and accesses to common pool resources has always afflicted with the relationship between

    Read More

  • Fossil Fuels and Alternative Energy Sources

    2001 Words  | 5 Pages

    The three fossil fuels- coal, crude oil, and gas slowly formed over millions of years. These days, we use fossil fuels to power everything- homes, buildings, cars, computers, lights, etc. However, fossil fuels deposits will run out soon, which is a huge problem. Extracting, transporting, and burning fossil fuels are dangerous. There are also many negative biological and environmental impacts that result from the use of fossil fuels, such as ocean acidification, groundwater contamination, land subsidence, oil spills, and global warming. Therefore, we should be trying to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and explore alternative energy sources such as wind energy, hydroelectricity, and solar energy instead. Our world depends on fossil fuels, but they can also hurt us. Fossil fuels are both a blessing and a curse.

    Read More

  • New Energy for the Future

    1349 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fossil fuels are energy that is in the form of coal, oil, or natural gas that comes from organisms from millions of years ago. The cycle to create fossil fuels takes millions of years to form and is therefore considered a nonrenewable resource of energy. Fossil fuels have been the primary source of energy for man ever since the age of machines, but one of “the main problem[s] with fossil fuels is that there is a limited amount of them” (Problem with Fossil Fuel). As countries become more developed, like the United States, they too will become more thirsty and dependent for fossil fuels. “In 2004, America spent approximately $270 billion to fufill its oil need.” and “90% of all transportation is fueled by oil” (Nakaya 10). With the global rate of fossil fuels going up it is inevitable that they are going to run out, forcing countries to choose an alternative energy source. The other huge problem with dependence on fossil fuels is the effect that the emissions have on the climate. Fossil fuels are made of carbon chains and in order for the reaction...

    Read More

  • What are our responsibilities toward the environment?

    1810 Words  | 4 Pages

    We all belong to the same world and all of us have the same responsibilities towards the world and its environment. This fact might be hard to digest, but if we continue to pollute the Earth at the current rate, all of the world’s ocean waters will become one-hundred-thirty percent acidic. This means that the ocean will be unable to sustain most of its marine life and only a few creatures will be able to survive in the water. A big population of people think that they do not or have few responsibilities towards the environment. People think that the governor of a country should take steps to help the environment. They leave it to scientists since they have the technology to prevent pollution, or that is what most people think. There are more responsibilities to the world each individual has than most of realize. The amount of negligence and ignorance of humans towards the Earth is taking a heavy toll.

    Read More

  • Renewable Energy is the Future

    990 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fuels like coal, and oil that once were a fine innovation in creating energy are now rapidly deleting and one day will be gone forever; energy that won’t last is often referred to as non-renewable energy. Besides being set up to fail and become inefficient in the future, fossil fuel energy is not clean to use and poses several environmental complications. Coal, for instance is “the dirtiest of all fossil fuels. Coal combustion not only produces sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides that contribute to acid rain and snow, it generates millions of tons of particulates that cause asthma and other respiratory diseases.” As with all usage of fossil fuels, it creates enormous amounts of carbon dioxide, which contributes to greenhouse gas. Not only are fossil fuels dirty, they also pose as a security risk and unforgiving on the American wallet. (Saini)

    Read More

More about Our Impact On The Environment

Open Document