Easter Island Tragedy

Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean near South America, suffered the Tragedy of the

Commons, which caused the natives of Easter Island to go extinct. The tragedy of the commons

is what happens when people don’t communicate and are not conservative of their resources.

The islanders cut down all of their trees, resulting in the loss of many resources.

According to Ralph Faggotter, when the people arrived, there were large forests and

palm trees, along with many species of birds and seals. There was also no steady, reliable

source of fresh water. Twelve tribes settled on Easter Island and no one tribe was in

charge. These tribes did not communicate either. With each tribe doing their own thing, the

resources were soon gone. Each