Tragedy of the Studio (commons)

Tragedy of the Commons: In my Yoga Studio

     

This photo depicts the ideal setting in which I would like to practice my yoga rituals. What can be more serene than this? Surrounded by nature, hearing only the animals dwelling in the forest, feeling the cool breeze on your skin and not worrying about anyone but yourself and your practice. Being a college student in the city of Cincinnati, this dream is hard to come by. I am forced to pay money and go to an inside studio surrounded with other students. 

The dilemma is this: Belonging to a yoga studio can be very expensive. So finding one for a reasonable price is hard to come by. I did, however, manage to do this. I now belong to a hot yoga studio within walking distance from my dorm and campus that only cost 35$ a month for unlimited classes! How can you beat that? I am not the only student to find this amazing deal though. Every time I go to a class I have to make sure that I am a good half an hour early to get a spot where I can see myself in the mirror before the crowd enters. As I lay on my matt in shavasana before class, other "yogis" enter in packs of twos, threes, sometimes five at a time! I wonder " Do they ever stop letting people in?" 

 Here is the studio where I practice yoga. As you can see it is more than packed. The reason is that yoga is becoming a more and more trendy thing to do. Hot stores such as Lululemon over glorify yoga with their trendy, in-style workout clothes and images of models doing yoga in the store. As nice as it is to share the love of binding one's body with others, I need room to breath and put my body in places where I don't have to worry about touching my neighbor. When I attend class, I am smack dab in the front next to the teacher's matt taking up a space from another student and blocking the usage of the mirror for others. If I do not attend class my spot is open and I miss out on an hour devoted to myself. 

I would not be able to do this position in the crowded studio. 

This story exemplifies Hogan's Tragedy; the fact that this studio is so convenient and cheap creates a tragedy of the commons. The front of the room is a common pool area because we all want to see what we are looking like during our practice and have plenty of room to do as we please. This spot is hard to come by because of the incredibly affordable classes that are offered by the studio and the number of increasing yogis in an urban city. The studio needs to allocate their profit by offering more classes for beginners, and/or advanced classes, or more classes in general instead of mushing all levels of ability together and having a packed studio. Because one day I want to be able to do this:

 And I need all the space and attention I paid for. 

On Being an Environmentalist

           There is something about being completely immersed in nature. The smells refresh your nasal passageways, the breeze calms your nerves, and the sounds of the young critters, chirping birds and the rustling of leaves are just a few serene events that happen to one in nature. You can never watch too many sunsets, get to the peak of enough mountains, or swim in the ocean enough. Now that the human race is growing exponentially, our natural resources seem to be depleting little by little. Lakes and rivers are being damed off, killing fish and ecosystems. Forest are being destroyed for their wood and for the land that they encompass. CO2 emissions destroying our ozone. These are just a few (out of thousands) man-made environmental disasters. They are becoming more and more prevalent and hard to ignore. I do consider myself an environmentalist, in the name of saving our Mother (nature)! We need to preserve our (now) precious resources.

            An environmentalist is an individual that is involved or advocates the protection and preservation of the environment. These individuals who consider themselves as such are growing as well. But, it takes much more than just calling oneself an environmentalist to be one. They act, speak, and live for the environment. This involves activities such as recycling, picking up trash, shopping organically and locally, driving a fuel efficient car or less often, saving electricity, and "going green". Environmentalists spread the word to anyone who will listen, letting them know the problems with our environment. They are concerned about preservation, consumption, population growth, resource depletion and so much more. Being an environmental studies major at the University of Cincinnati makes being an environmentalist easy for me because I am constantly being bombarded with the latest green crisis, alternate energy and such things an environmentalist would be concerned about. Hearing all of this makes me therefor change my ways and live in an eco-friendly way.

           The life style of an environmentalist can be a difficult one. In this high tech, fast passed society it's hard to get people to realize that every decision they make can have a negative effect on our environment. Society is so careless in there consumption. There is little regard from people about the impact that they have on the planet. That is why, as environmentalist, I feel it necessary to spread the word. There are so many little easy things that an individual can change to reduce consumption. Using containers for lunch in place of little baggies, bring reusable grocery bags when grocery shopping, turn the lights off when leaving a room, turn off the water while brushing teeth, carpool, get a reusable water bottle instead of plastic ones, buy second hand books and anything recycled, buy organic products, recycle, volunteer in the community, and unplug electronics when they are not being used. All of these are simple steps anyone can take in their everyday life to better the planet. An environmentalist, such as myself, already does all of these things.

          With all the talk about Climate Change and Global Warming that is in the news people may get burnt out on the concept of going green. They hear so much back and forth about these topics and feel that there truly is no answer and that it is not their problem. People do not like being told to change the way they live for any reason. No one wants to be inconvenienced by going green. People like being consumers and buying the latest technology and driving their big, fast cars every chance they get and getting that instant gratification. These individuals need to be educated and shown the facts and evidence that what they are doing is wrong and detrimental. This, however, may still not be enough in this selfish, everyone for themselves type society. Until people are told that they themselves are going to be effected and inconvenienced in the future by their choices now, they won't change.

           Fortunately not all individuals are stubborn and ignorant and there are those willing to change. Some people see being an environmentalist as the latest trend and the "cool" thing to be. People like saying "I'm a vegetarian" or "It's organic" or "I'm going to the farmers market" because it makes them sound hip and environmentally friendly. As superficial as that sounds, they are actually doing these things and helping the environment. And there are people who actually do care and wish to be make a difference because they see the wrong doing around them and are truly disgusted or scared for their future without trees, zoos, parks, and clean water. The news is an educator and sometimes a scare tactic in getting people to change their ways. It is a powerful tool and makes a difference.

           Public awareness is key in saving the environment and becoming an environmentalist. Being aware of the changes makes them easier to reverse. Although saving the planet is a huge task and will take the effort of every individual, it can be done. Can you imagine life with out trees, natural fruits and vegetables, wild animals, clean water or fresh air? I can't. It doesn't take a lot to be an environmentalist and we need more of them. We need to save our mother before she is destroyed. It may in some cases take a rude awakening or a life changing environmental catastrophe but, by any means necessary, the environment needs to be protected and preserved. Hopefully it won't be too late when people feel the need to change.