What is the tragedy of the commons? - Nicholas Amendolare
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TEDEd Animation
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Is it possible that overfishing, super germs, and global warming are all caused by the same thing? In 1968, a man named Garrett Hardin sat down to write an essay about overpopulation. Within it, he discovered a pattern of human behavior that explains some of history’s biggest problems. Nicholas Amendolare describes the tragedy of the commons.
WatchThink 5 Multiple Choice &
3 Open Answer Questions Dig Deeper Learn More Discuss 1 Guided Discussion &
17 Open Discussions
3 Open Answer Questions Dig Deeper Learn More Discuss 1 Guided Discussion &
17 Open Discussions
Additional Resources for you to Explore
Interested in trying a demonstration of the Tragedy of the Commons? Try: The Candy Fishing Lab – where students play the role of fishermen, fishing for candy in a shared pond. All the while, you can learn about sustainability, overfishing, and eventually The Tragedy of the Commons. Click here!
Want to read an adapted version of Garret Hardin’s famous article: The Tragedy of the Commons? Click here.
TED Ed also has a lesson on circumstances that can be described as tragedies of the commons. Watch these two lessons on overfishing: Will the ocean ever run out of fish? by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Jennifer Jacquet and Understanding overfishing.
To learn more about the hole in the ozone, check out this piece from the Smithsonian: The Ozone Hole Was Super Scary, So What Happened to It?
Also worth taking a look at are these two quick summaries from the National Science Foundation: Tragedy of the Commons Part 1 - Chalk Talk and Tragedy of the Commons Part 2 - Chalk Talk.
For more from the educator of this lesson, Nicholas Amendolare, click here.
Want to read an adapted version of Garret Hardin’s famous article: The Tragedy of the Commons? Click here.
TED Ed also has a lesson on circumstances that can be described as tragedies of the commons. Watch these two lessons on overfishing: Will the ocean ever run out of fish? by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Jennifer Jacquet and Understanding overfishing.
To learn more about the hole in the ozone, check out this piece from the Smithsonian: The Ozone Hole Was Super Scary, So What Happened to It?
Also worth taking a look at are these two quick summaries from the National Science Foundation: Tragedy of the Commons Part 1 - Chalk Talk and Tragedy of the Commons Part 2 - Chalk Talk.
For more from the educator of this lesson, Nicholas Amendolare, click here.
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Meet The Creators
- Educator Nicholas Amendolare
- Director Lisa LaBracio
- Script Editor Eleanor Nelsen
- Composer Nicolas Martigne
- Animator Lisa LaBracio
- Background Artist Tara Sunil Thomas
- Clean Up Animator Tara Sunil Thomas
- Associate Producer Jessica Ruby
- Content Producer Gerta Xhelo
- Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal
- Narrator Addison Anderson
