Classroom/Laboratory Activity: Global Warming as a Tragedy of the Commons

A classroom/laboratory activity to understand tragedy of the commons through case studies and discuss global warming as a tragedy of the commons.

Students will examine past environmental problems to understand the concept of the tragedy of the commons. Then, they will discuss “Earth’s atmosphere” as a commons and “global warming” as a tragedy, and propose economic solutions to solve this tragedy-of-the-commons problem.

Use this tool to help your students find answers to:

1. Describe the concept of tragedy of the commons.
2. Discuss global warming (caused by climate change) as a tragedy-of-the-commons problem.
3. Propose two fiscal policies that could be solutions to the global warming problem.

About the Tool

Tool Name	Introducing the economic concept of ‘tragedy of the commons’ using global warming
Discipline	Economics
Topic(s) in Discipline	Tragedy of the Commons
Climate Topic	Climate Change and Economics
Type of Tool	Laboratory Activity
Grade Level	Undergraduate
Location	Global
Language	English
Translation
Developed by	Laura Triplett, Gustavus Adolphus College
Hosted at	InTeGrate at Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Link	https://serc.carleton.edu/integrate/programs/implementation/program2/activities/135953.html
Access	Online/Offline
Computer Skills	Basic