Forty years ago, ecologist Garrett Hardin popularised an economic theory on the depletion of common resource with the release of his thesis titled The Tragedy of Commons (Hardin, 1968). The worlds then population was less than half what it is today, yet he recognised that "a finite world can support only a finite population” (Hardin, 1968, p.78). Despite the irrefutable logic of this analysis, Hardin’s work is widely condemned, both for its failure to place adequate weight on the detrimental effects of “consumer-driven lifestyles” (Trevors, & Saier, 2010, p.S13), and the way in which the theory serves to justify enclosure of commons through privatisation, which can result in over-exploitation (De Moor, 2009; Bromley, & Cernea, 1989; Nagendra,
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The lights of civilisation stretch right across the face of the planet, and if one saw such a spread on either plant, or animal, thoughts of parasites might ensue. But not all of humanity is represented by lights. Almost 1 in 5 people on Earth currently live without electricity, enjoying a different standard of living to the “7 percent” of the population who “are responsible for 50 percent of the world's carbon dioxide emissions” (Clemente, 2014; Walsh, 2013; Pearce, 2009). Hardin rightly identified that a trade-off exists between population and consumption, and the pollution caused by “mounting use of the Yosemite Valley national park” (Dustin, and McAvoy, 1980, p.19) provides an example, yet he portrays growth in per person consumption as the unavoidable outcome of “a system that compels” (Hardin, 1968, p. 78), while advocating for a merciless “live a let die” (Næss, 2004, p.19) approach to population management. Dangerously, Hardin is therefore favouring the unfettered consumption of free markets, the population represented by lights, and the percentage generating massive pollution, which weakens his argument - for the aforementioned statistics indicates why consumption, not population, is …show more content…
A 2006 nationwide study found, “E. coli guidelines were exceeded” (MAF, 2006, p.4) in more than 90 percent of lowland river pastoral sites tested, while 78 percent exceeded ammonia guidelines (MAF, 2006; Ministry, 2009), and New Zealand’s total renewable freshwater resource (per capita) has fallen by almost half since the 1960’s (Worldbank, 2018). Furthermore, the statistics on nitrogen and phosphate overloads now exceed Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC) guidelines in most of the nations sampled catchments (Ministry, 2009). It is therefore easy to appreciate why “New Zealand is fast discovering that freshwater is not an unlimited resource” (NZBCAD, 2008), but when it comes to freshwater, enforcing responsible resource use is not simple, for the biophysical nature of water makes it indifferent to administrative delineation (H. van Gils, Siegl, and Bennett, 2014; Ostrom, 2008). Moreover, “global water insecurities (Phadke, 2013, p.80) incite aversion to “power over water” (Phadke, 2013, p.94), be it through leadership or ownership (De Moor, 2009; Ostrom, 2008). Effective solutions to water usage issues may therefore need to involve a blended
The lights of civilisation stretch right across the face of the planet, and if one saw such a spread on either plant, or animal, thoughts of parasites might ensue. But not all of humanity is represented by lights. Almost 1 in 5 people on Earth currently live without electricity, enjoying a different standard of living to the “7 percent” of the population who “are responsible for 50 percent of the world's carbon dioxide emissions” (Clemente, 2014; Walsh, 2013; Pearce, 2009). Hardin rightly identified that a trade-off exists between population and consumption, and the pollution caused by “mounting use of the Yosemite Valley national park” (Dustin, and McAvoy, 1980, p.19) provides an example, yet he portrays growth in per person consumption as the unavoidable outcome of “a system that compels” (Hardin, 1968, p. 78), while advocating for a merciless “live a let die” (Næss, 2004, p.19) approach to population management. Dangerously, Hardin is therefore favouring the unfettered consumption of free markets, the population represented by lights, and the percentage generating massive pollution, which weakens his argument - for the aforementioned statistics indicates why consumption, not population, is …show more content…
A 2006 nationwide study found, “E. coli guidelines were exceeded” (MAF, 2006, p.4) in more than 90 percent of lowland river pastoral sites tested, while 78 percent exceeded ammonia guidelines (MAF, 2006; Ministry, 2009), and New Zealand’s total renewable freshwater resource (per capita) has fallen by almost half since the 1960’s (Worldbank, 2018). Furthermore, the statistics on nitrogen and phosphate overloads now exceed Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC) guidelines in most of the nations sampled catchments (Ministry, 2009). It is therefore easy to appreciate why “New Zealand is fast discovering that freshwater is not an unlimited resource” (NZBCAD, 2008), but when it comes to freshwater, enforcing responsible resource use is not simple, for the biophysical nature of water makes it indifferent to administrative delineation (H. van Gils, Siegl, and Bennett, 2014; Ostrom, 2008). Moreover, “global water insecurities (Phadke, 2013, p.80) incite aversion to “power over water” (Phadke, 2013, p.94), be it through leadership or ownership (De Moor, 2009; Ostrom, 2008). Effective solutions to water usage issues may therefore need to involve a blended