The failures of public policy and the role of the individual…
Justin TuckerDivision of Politics, Administration and Justice
California State University, Fullerton
The tragedy of the commons
• Garrett Hardin (1968)
Why shouldn’t I graze more cows?
Governing the commons
• Economic and Political Solutions– Central Government control• Punishment for violations
– Privatization of the resource• Individual owners who protect their investment
– Negotiated agreements and institutions• All stakeholders invited to participate• Oversight through information sharing
Governance problems for common pool resources
• Necessary scientific information:– What is the true nature of the resource?• Quantities and qualities• Important variables• Causal relationships• Magnitudes of change
– How certain are we about long term outcomes and effects?
– What is the optimal management strategy?
Science in the Policy Process
• Scientists– Solve interesting
problems• Grow knowledge• Verify truths• Ask more questions
– Test hypotheses at varying levels of certainty• More tests mean more or
less certainty– Rely on their reputation
for rigorous research
• Policymakers– Wage civilized war
• Public policies• Political power
– Exert social pressure on institutions and citizens• Attempt to shape behavior
– Rely on their reputation for pleasing constituents
Policies are rarely optimal according to scientific standards
Public policies
• May be loosely based on science• Mostly political– Bargaining– Interest group pressure– Constituent needs– Social acceptance
• Cannot change as fast as the current state of science• May not have significant monitoring or sanctioning
provisions– Specifically, international conventions
Individuals
• Why shouldn’t I graze more cows?– Translation: why should I change my behavior to
help with climate change?• Answer:– Slight initial discomfort in exchange for immediate
benefits– Long term cost reductions– Cultural shift must proceed regulatory shift
Simple things
• Transportation– Bike instead of drive– Public transportation
• Walk the stairs• Eating– Regionally grown foods– Plant a small garden– Eat less
• Hang your clothes dry• Be creative
Elevators
• Energy use– Average house
• 12,000 kWh/year– Average elevator
• 15,000 kWh/year• A one-floor round trip uses as much
energy as needed to charge one cell phone– A trip from the ground floor of University
Hall to my floor and back could have charged 5 cell phones
• Why not use the stairs?
Escalators
• Energy use– Average escalator
• 150,000 kWh/year• 10x the electricity of an
elevator• Not affected by load• Technology is 100 years old
– The USA’s 30,000 escalators use enough energy to power 375,000 homes each year!
McCarthy Hall
• Six escalators that run all day long.• 900,000 kWh/year• Resultant pollution*– 675,900 lbs CO2/year– 588 lbs NOx/year– 504 lbs SO2/year
• To prevent students from clogging the stairs?
*determined using the EPA energy profiler and the average escalator energy use profile
Food
Clothing• Washing– 90% of energy used
in heating the water• Drying– A $20 drying rack will
pay for itself in 20-27 dryer loads of clothes
– Dry air is free– Clothes last longer
Public Policy and the Individual
• Public policies – Balance science with public pressures• May not be enough• Will likely fall short of scientific prescriptions
– Largely based on currently acceptable cultural norms• Individuals– Have an impact!– Needed to change the culture– Can reap significant benefits
What can I do?
• Think before you act• Walk – To the grocery store– Up the stairs
• Talk– To people you know– Ask for suggestions
• Be active– Participate politically– Point out ways to save
energy• Do– Create your own
solutions