Environmental degradation has been at the center of conversation for many generations. The negative implications it is having on the planet and society have led to many solutions being proposed over the last 50 years. Already in the 1960s, Garrett Hardin's The Tragedy of the Commons raised the issue of global climate change as well as the negative implications of population growth and deterioration of the “commons.” Likewise, Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si also describes the negative implications of environmental degradation. Both Laudato Si and Tragedy of the Commons highlight the importance of the change needed to preserve the environment. However, the approach on how to solve global problems is different for everyone. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Environmental issues in the commons are an important discussion for Pope Francis in Laudato Si and Hardin in Tragedy of the Commons. Both highlight the importance that change is necessary to preserve the environment we share as a people. Pope Francis addresses the world's environmental problems with the awareness that times have changed and so must our approach to sustaining what we have been given. He says: «Never have we hurt and mistreated our common home so much as in these last two hundred years» (Laudato si, 53). Similarly, Hardin states, “One hundred and fifty years ago a plainsman might kill an American bison, cut out only its tongue for dinner, and discard the rest of the animal. It was not in any important sense a waste. Today, with only a few thousand bison remaining, we would be appalled by such behavior. "(Hardin, 3) Both readings underline how instead of focusing on what we are taking from the environment, we must also be aware of everything we put into the environment. Pope Francis insists: «We must also take into account the pollution produced by residues, including dangerous ones, present in various areas. Every year hundreds of millions of tonnes of waste are generated, mostly non-biodegradable, highly toxic and radioactive, coming from homes and businesses, from construction and demolition sites, from clinical sources, electronic and industrial" (Laudato Si, 21). Hardin also indicates that we must be aware of environmental issues, in particular of common goods: "Here it is not a question of taking something away from common goods, but of putting something in waste water, or in chemical, radioactive and thermal waste in the water; harmful and dangerous fumes in the air.” (Hardin, 3) Both readings insist that awareness of environmental issues will lead people to have better understanding and cooperation. Hardin and Pope Francis wrote their approaches to combating environmental issues through Laudato Si and Tragedia della i Comuni While their approaches may differ at times, they both tend to agree on how to solve environmental problems. To begin, both Hardin and Pope Francis discuss how to come together to unite and solve problems with resources boundary between private property and common resources for all, Hardin states: “The owner of a factory on the bank of a stream often has difficulty understanding why it is not his natural right to muddy the waters that flow past his door.” Hardin uses this example to capture the mindset of many people who don't realize how much they affect their commons. Hardin is trying to encourage the growing population to think about how it affects others. Pope Francis agrees and encouragesalso in his encyclical to think of others. Pope Francis states: «There is also pollution that affects everyone, caused by transport, industrial fumes, substances that contribute to the acidification of soil and water, fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and agrotoxic in general" (Laudato Si 20). Pope Francis notes the same problem as Hardin and believes that it can be solved in the same way even many years after the publication of Hardin's document. Both Pope Francis and Hardin believe that people should come together to help common resources, humanity and the environment. Both Hardin and Pope Francis encourage the idea of ​​not just thinking about yourself, but thinking about solutions that involve everyone involved in the “global commons.” Pope Francis and Hardin's approach to solving environmental problems differ when it comes to finding solutions. Hardin explains how the population grew "geometrically" and that we have a finite amount of space and goods in a finite world. Hardin explains that a possible solution to this problem is linked to the amount of calories we eat. "We need to get the amount of work calories (extra calories) per person as close to zero as possible. No gourmet food, vacations..." (Hardin 1243). Hardin believes that the real solution to population growth is not achievable in the current period. That it will take many generations of research to figure out what might actually work. His solutions may be unattainable, but he argues that it all depends on how we manage population growth in future generations. In the Pope's Encyclical Letter, Laudato Si, he more or less addresses the issue not as population growth, but as other problems. that we could handle more easily. «The human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together» (Laudato Si, 48), seems to explain that we alone will not solve our demographic crisis. He mentions how difficult it is to raise awareness of our problems, when the population with the most problems has no voice. Focusing more on how all forms of society will have to come together to help solve their problems. That we as a society are not in enough physical contact with each other, that we don't even know if people have issues and problems in the world. "Blaming population growth instead of the extreme and selective consumerism of some is a way of refusing to face the problems. It is an attempt to legitimize the current distribution model" (Ladauto Si, 50). Pope Francis does not agree that population growth is a major contributor to environmental issues, but these are social issues. Laudato Si and Tragedy of the Commons both highlight the importance of solving environmental problems, however Pope Francis has a different approach when it comes to solving global issues. For starters, throughout his encyclical, Pope Francis describes the importance of thinking outside the box towards those who need it most. Pope Francis introduces this idea of ​​integral ecology in the fourth chapter of the encyclical underlining that "Everything is closely related and today's problem requires a vision capable of taking into account every aspect of a global crisis and which clearly respects its human and social dimension ”. Laudato Si 137). Pope Francis believes that to solve global environmental problems it is necessary to consider strategies to "fight poverty, restore dignity and, at the same time, protect nature" (Laudato Si 139). For Francis it is important that, to improve the environment, we must first take care of all those people who live in our common home and take care of the environment because the two do not.