The Tragedy of the Commons Invading Our Environmental Rights Case Study: Coral Reefs
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10/27/04
Research in the Disciplines
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Tragedy of the commons invading our environmental rights:
Case study Coral Reefs
In our world there are many resources, all of which people do not have a choice in sharing such as our air and our oceans. These resources are looked at as infinite, although this is not actually the case. Each time one person does something to pollute or use these types of resources, it affects the whole of society. This is the idea of the tragedy of the commons. This tragedy is the phenomena in which a resource may be used to such an extent that it is ruined for all. An example of this tragedy is given in the following scenario: given an open pasture as a commons to which all the herdsmen have a stake; each one will try and keep as many animals on the commons as possible. By adding one more animal to his herd, an individual gains a positive to himself but the negative effect of over grazing is felt throughout the commons. The effect, of overgrazing by one additional animal appears minimal so the other rational herdsmen conclude to add an additional animal to their own herd. Since all the herdsmen are thought to be rational this conclusion is reached by each of them. The effect of, overgrazing will become detrimental to the pasture and all the animals will die. There in is the tragedy because of peoples greed to use and or need of a limited resource the over use or degradation of it leads to its destruction. The destruction of these resources leads into another topic discussed by Shari Collins-Chobanian as well as others; this is the idea of “environmental rights” (Collins Chobanian).
This idea entails that all people have certain natural rights to their environment that should be unalienable “Ð[the] most basic rights are the right to subsistence and include unpolluted air, unpolluted water, adequate food, adequate clothing, adequate shelter, and minimal preventative healthcare” (Collins-Chobanian 17). Basically she is stating the fact that each person has the right to live in a clean world, be able to obtain the necessities which are needed to live, and make a living in which they can lead a healthy lifestyle.
It is through the theories of the tragedy of the commons and environmental rights that we realize that all of society is invading one anothers environmental rights through the tragedy of the commons. This is done very inconspicuously in some cases such as that of the Coral Reefs.
The Coral Reefs are limestone formations that are produced by living organisms. They are found in shallow tropical waters. The predominate organisms that make them up are stony corals, which are colonial cnidarians that secrete calcium carbonate (limestone) as an exoskeleton. Calcium carbonate is also deposited by other types of marine organisms such as tube-building annelid worms but any reef formed by a biological community is called a coral reef. These skeletons accumulate due to the tides and create a formation that supports the living coral as well as the highest species diversity of all explored marine habitats. Reefs are found between the latitudes of 30ÐoN to 30ÐoS of the equator. Corals will not grow at depths greater then 100 ft because the water temperature falls below 72Ðo F which is deadly to them. (I may discuss the different types of reef formations here but I am not sure how related to the rest of the paper that will be)
There are many environmental pressures that are damaging reefs. These include, water pollution, tourism, increased coastal development, change in water temperature, runoff containing agricultural chemicals, and abrasions by ships. As well coral reefs are also destroyed during fishing when poison or dynamite is used to catch the fish and coral is harvested for jewelry. Recently, many unknown diseases began attacking the reefs worldwide causing rapid damage. As you can see, many of the threats to the coral reefs are created by industry and other human activities that have no direct contact with them, but through using common resources, people are still destroying them and invading the environmental rights of other people.
Environmentally speaking, one of the greatest problems facing humans in this time is that of global warming. This process has been occurring sense the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. It is a process in which the large amounts of gases emitted from the burning of fossil fuels enter our atmosphere. “Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased nearly 30%, methane concentrations have more than doubled, and nitrous oxide concentrations have risen by about 15%. These increases have enhanced the heat-trapping capability of the earths atmosphere.”(EPA) This large increase in these gases within our atmosphere is causing the global temperature of the earth to rise. The EPA states that earths surface temperature has increased .5-1ÐoC sense the late 19th century (EPA). Because of this the, snow cover and ice of the Artic Circle has decreased and the sea level has risen 4-8 inches. While it seems that the global temperature going up would be good for the coral reefs, it is the opposite; because of this change in temperature, ocean currents have shifted slightly and weather patterns have changed (EPA).
Coral is a fragile organism. Freshwater flooding, increase or decrease in light, and change in temperature are all events that may cause coral to die. (Jordan M. West And Rodney V. Salm) These types of events can be the result of global warming; “Huge swathes of the coral at Rangiroa in French Polynesia died during three months of exceptionally warm weather in 1998, when sea temperatures soared to 34 degrees centigrade for the first time.” (NASA) This huge change in temperature from the usual 28 degrees Celsius to 34 degrees was said to be in direct correlation with global warming. Global warming is a tragedy that our world faces and we all add to it each day in many ways some of which you probably dont realize. We are invading our common resource of the air and atmosphere of our world through this neglect. This process is destroying many things including the coral reefs of our world. Through the destruction of the reefs is invading the Environmental rights of those who need the reefs to thrive.
One of the most harmful effects that global warming has on coral is that of coral bleaching. “Healthy tissue of most stony corals ranges from yellow to brownish in color, a function of the photosynthetic pigments of their symbiotic