You cannot do only one thing.
From Garrett Hardin
In an approximate way, the logic of commons has been understood for a long time, perhaps since the discovery of agriculture or the invention of private property in real estate.
The rational man finds that his share of the cost of the wastes he discharges into the commons is less than the cost of purifying his wastes before releasing them.
Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all.
But it is no good using the tongs of reason to pull the Fundamentalists' chestnuts out of the fire of contradiction. Their real troubles lie elsewhere.
Moreover, the practical recommendations deduced from ecological principles threaten the vested interests of commerce; it is hardly surprising that the financial and political power created by these investments should be used sometimes to suppress environmental impact studies.
A coldly rationalist individualist can deny that he has any obligation to make sacrifices for the future.
In a finite world this means that the per capita share of the world's goods must steadily decrease.
Education can counteract the natural tendency to do the wrong thing, but the inexorable succession of generations requires that the basis for this knowledge be constantly refreshed.
It is a mistake to think that we can control the breeding of mankind in the long run by an appeal to conscience.
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