The Tragedy of the Commons Simulation

1. Did anyone in your group take too many fish? How did that make you feel? Did everyone try to take as many as possible? Why or Why not? Does society reward those with the "most"?
   In the first round, Marta didn't quite understand what was happening and took eight fish when Sofia took 3 and I took 2. Soon, our resources started depleting, and it felt pretty easy to blame her. I know that I wanted everyone to be able to have some fish, so I took very few, and I know that, once we saw the "fish population" going down, everyone started to take very few, if just to be polite, and not run out of fish for themselves. It sort of felt like self-preservation. And no, we did not reward those with the "most" because we blamed them for our having little.

2. Did anyone sacrifice their # of fish, for the good of the community? Why or why not? Does society ever reward that type of person?
   I know that I did. I only took two, when I was first and could have taken as many as I liked. I wanted everyone to be able to have some, and I knew that if I took a lot, then when the others took fish, no matter how many, there would always be less and less for me. I don't think society does reward them, because they are kind of looked down on as poor.

3. During round 2, did your group discuss your actions and strategies before each harvest? If so, briefly relate the discussion. Did each member carry out the plan that was discussed?
   We did. We all decided to only take one each time, and everyone went along with it, after seeing that we lost all of our fish toward the end of the first round. 

4. In Game Two... how did your strategy change, if at all? Does it make a difference to know what the rewards are?
   Mine stayed pretty much the same, taking very few fish, but everyone else in my group also took very few fish, so we got to "stay alive" for many more years. It also makes you more aware of the number of fish.

5. Is it possible to maximize the number of fish caught/person AND the number of fish remaining in the pond at the same time? Why or Why not?
   I don't think so, unless you all started out taking very few fish until the population doubled so many times that it got huge, and then everyone started taking more. But there must be an environmental carrying capacity that keeps both populations happy, which I think can be found out using the formula 
   Pt+1−Pt=rPt×(1−PtM),
   that we learned it biology maybe?

6. Your fish harvest was worth money. Why would it be better to have money than fish (i.e. what can you do with money that you can't do with fish?)?
   With money you can build a house, buy a car, pay bills, and generally use it for living like you can't with fish. You can't trade fish for something else more useful.

7. Think of a local commons that you are familiar with. [parking lots, bathrooms, Cafeteria,, etc.] Do similar situations arise? Explain. How might those problems be solved?
   I suppose it happens in the dining hall. The students eat the food, and then the kitchen staff replenish it every so often, but we are frequently left without a certain item, like chicken nuggets. If everyone takes 10 nuggets, then not everyone will get any, but if we all take less, then we can all have some. It seems like the only way to regulate it is to make a law– or in this case just give people less nuggets.

8. What are some natural resources that are common resources?
   Water, trees, fossil fuels, oil, natural gasses, fish, clean air, forests

9. What are the global commons? Are these being used wisely? Why or why not?
   The oceans, the rain forests, the atmosphere, outer space, that sort of thing. We are not using them wisely because we are constantly polluting the oceans, we are destroying the atmosphere by harming the ozone, and are generally being irresponsible. We all need to share these things and we are all being greedy.

10. What can people do to use these resources most wisely?
    We can stop contaminating the water, for starters. We can cut back on our carbon foot prints, stop cutting down trees willy-nilly, and maybe get some laws in place that regulate how much each person can use. Generally we need to be more open to sharing.
    
    
    
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