Activity 4.1 – Tragedy of the Commons: A Case Study

 Introduction: Tragedy of the commons refers to a situation that happens when multiple people use too much of a limited resource. The majority of the resources we had have been able to renew themselves over time however when people do not give that resource enough time to recover it causes the overall amount of it to drastically decrease over a shorter period of time than if people had only taken what they needed. When one person consumes more of the resource compared to other people they then cause a chain reaction where other people try to take more into account of the shrinking availability of the resource.


A descriptive explanation of the tragedy of the commons problem: An example of a current-day “ Tragedy of the commons” would be Line 3 which is currently being built by Enbridge Corporation. Line three is a tar pipeline that will go through areas of Alberta, Canada to Superior, Wisconsin. The pipeline will carry 915,000 gallons of tar every day across the above-listed areas. Their goal is to build a bigger network of pipelines in order to make more revenue as well as replace the older Line Three pipelines that had ruptured. However, their expansion is being met with great opposition from multiple parties. Native Americans, Environmentalists, and those who live by the construction have been protesting the construction of the new pipeline for various reasons. One of the biggest areas of concern when it comes to the construction of the pipeline is the environment. With tar being a non-renewable source, the already limited resource will be depleted at higher rates. As well as other resources needed to make tar-like ​​ “Sand, clay, water, and a thick, molasses-like substance called bitumen.”(What Are Tar Sands? n.d.). Another resource that will be depleted will be the water used to mix and make the tar. Once the water is used to make the tar it can no longer be used for anything else, which is a huge problem cause we already have a limited supply of consumable water. Approximately 185 gallons of water are needed to create “one barrel of crude oil from the tar sands” (Schneider, 2016). Enbridge is not the only company that makes and distributes tar, there are dozens of other companies that do the exact same thing which is why this is an example of a “tragedy of the commons” because multiple parties are using high volumes of a limited resource instead of letting the resource recover/sustain itself.


External Costs (Externalities) both positive and negative:

Positive: About 8,600 jobs will be created

  • 2 billion dollar increase in Minnesota's economy

  • 334 million will be given to workers

  • 162 million gain for local economies

  • Increases property tax (Line 3 Replacement Project, n.d.)

Negative:

  • Over 287 billion dollars in climate damage over a thirty-year period

  • Past pipelines caused over 1 billion in damages ( it caused an oil spill)(Stop Line 3: What Are the Risks? 2019)


Two solutions: The two solutions that are the most popular right now are stopping all construction sites of Line Three or creating another way to transport the tar without underground pipes. Although there aren't many alternatives to the pipeline currently many organizations are creating baseline plans to replace the pipeline itself and stop any future construction plans regarding Line Three.


An argument for and against the possible solution:

Many people are actually in favor of stopping all construction regarding the Line Three pipeline because of all the potential and permanent damage it will cause to the environment as well as the disregard for the indigenous people that live on the land where Line Three is being built. Line Three is going to be built on Indigenous land that belongs to the Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) people primarily, as well as the White Earth and Red Lake nations. The construction of the pipeline on their land violates many treaties that had been set in place to protect their lands and Enbridge is ignoring them. The people who are against this solution are more interested in the potential economic gain for the construction of Line Three; however, the potential gain for its construction is greatly overshadowed by the repercussions of what will happen when the pipeline deteriorates. It will cost them billions of dollars of damage to the environment and an oil spill this large will permanently alter the surrounding environment.








References:

Line 3 Replacement Project. (n.d.). Enbridge Inc. Retrieved October 31, 2022, from https://www.enbridge.com/projects-and-infrastructure/public-awareness/minnesota-projects/line-3-replacement-project

Google Docs: Sign-in. (n.d.). Retrieved October 31, 2022, from https://docs.google.com/document/d/17I5gwYTHgmq8IiiJQtexA2L50o95TDuWbkdSVxhQK3A/edit?usp=sharing

Schneider, K. (2016, March 10). Tar Sands Oil Production, An Industrial Bonanza, Poses Major Water Use Challenges. Circle of Blue. https://www.circleofblue.org/2010/world/tar-sands-oil-production-is-an-industrial-bonanza-poses-major-water-use-challenges/

Stop Line 3: What are the risks? (2019, October 17). MN350. https://mn350.org/campaigns/stop-line-3/stop-line-3-what-are-the-risks/

Stop Line 3. (2021a, May 31). Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth. https://www.uumfe.org/campaigns/stop-line-3/

Stop Line Three. “Stop Line Three.” Take Action Stop Line Three, www.stopline3.org/#intro.

 Accessed 4 Nov. 2021.

What Are Tar Sands? (n.d.). Union of Concerned Scientists. Retrieved October 31, 2022,

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