When people are asked to think about the environment, many different ideas come about. For
Garrett Hardin, it was the idea of the tragedy of the commons that was most concerning to him. He wrote an essay about the exploitation of a resource used by many people. In a short-term aspect, this is beneficial for the developer, but over time the resource is damaged beyond repair (Hardin). He explained the damage to resources as a result of greed. The tragedy of the commons was conveyed in Dr. Seuss’ The
Lorax, a story about exploitation of resources. Even though this is fictional, it applies to many real life situations. A particular example is the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone. Concepts present in both The Lorax and this event are unawareness and denial of the problem, lack of …show more content…
Also because the main consequence of the farming is seen far downstream in the ocean, it is easy to say “It’s not my problem.”
Another issue is lack of authoritative communication and legislation about the issue. In The
Lorax, there was nothing preventing the Once-ler from developing the land and using all of its resources.
In the end, he was left with dirt, barren land that came about as a result of the over-exploitation (Seuss). If rules and laws were in place to prevent this from happening, the outcome would have been very different for the Truffula trees, the wildlife, and the Lorax. This can be compared with the situation in the Gulf of
Mexico. While there are legislative acts that protect water sources and regulate chemicals, they seem to be ineffective. There is a patch of uninhabitable water in the ocean to prove they are ineffective. If authoritative figures could communicate to create laws that address the problem upstream, the outcome could be advantageous for the Gulf of Mexico. It is also effective to inform people of the impacts of their decisions. This will allow farmers and developers to switch to more efficient practices. Since there is
Garrett Hardin, it was the idea of the tragedy of the commons that was most concerning to him. He wrote an essay about the exploitation of a resource used by many people. In a short-term aspect, this is beneficial for the developer, but over time the resource is damaged beyond repair (Hardin). He explained the damage to resources as a result of greed. The tragedy of the commons was conveyed in Dr. Seuss’ The
Lorax, a story about exploitation of resources. Even though this is fictional, it applies to many real life situations. A particular example is the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone. Concepts present in both The Lorax and this event are unawareness and denial of the problem, lack of …show more content…
Also because the main consequence of the farming is seen far downstream in the ocean, it is easy to say “It’s not my problem.”
Another issue is lack of authoritative communication and legislation about the issue. In The
Lorax, there was nothing preventing the Once-ler from developing the land and using all of its resources.
In the end, he was left with dirt, barren land that came about as a result of the over-exploitation (Seuss). If rules and laws were in place to prevent this from happening, the outcome would have been very different for the Truffula trees, the wildlife, and the Lorax. This can be compared with the situation in the Gulf of
Mexico. While there are legislative acts that protect water sources and regulate chemicals, they seem to be ineffective. There is a patch of uninhabitable water in the ocean to prove they are ineffective. If authoritative figures could communicate to create laws that address the problem upstream, the outcome could be advantageous for the Gulf of Mexico. It is also effective to inform people of the impacts of their decisions. This will allow farmers and developers to switch to more efficient practices. Since there is