Tragedy of the commons

In another forum topic some weeks ago the term the tragedy of the commons was raised.

For hopefully least some of you out there I quote from Robert Kull's book Solitude - Seeking Wisdom in Extremes. He wrote this book after spending a year alone in the Patagonia wilderness.

quote

Perhaps the "tragedy of the commons" is our culture's overriding metaphor. We realise that collectively we are seriously damaging the Earth, but we feel the technology and consumer goods that are the main source of environmental degradation improve our individual lives. Few of us want to personally do without these things, so we look for alternative solutions: recycle, down with big business, the illusion of sustainable development, and so on. But finally, I think we will need to renounce some of our material goods. Am I willing? This trip makes me wonder. How high-tech I've become compared to other wilderness retreats".

His website at www.bobkull.org is also worth a visit.