Colonial Pipeline Tragedy

In an essay in 1833, William Forster Lloyd outlined a phenomenon called the “tragedy of the commons.” The tragedy of the commons can be defined as individuals acting only for their personal benefit, thus depleting a necessary group resource to the point that it cannot recover (“Tragedy”). This issue reared its head in the state of North Carolina recently due to the gas shortage caused by a damaged pipeline. On September 9th, Colonial Pipeline Company discovered it had a leak in its southern pipeline near Helena, AL, and was forced to shut the pipeline down (Press). This left several southern states with severe gasoline shortages. Many citizens panicked and rushed out to buy as much gas as they could, exacerbating the problem. Additionally,