Which of the following best describes the concept of the tragedy of the commons?
a. resources that are shared by individuals, such as the ogallala aquifer groundwater, are highly regulated by legislation, thereby depriving common people of their use. b. communities enact recycling programs to reduce the amount of materials that need to be mined. the cost of the recycling program is absorbed by community taxes. c. the aim of large logging operations in tropical rain forests is economic gain, rather than sustainability. therefore, the shared resources in the forest could become depleted. d. soil nutrients, such as nitrates, are used unequally depending on the type of vegetation. therefore, farmers must add fertilizers to certain areas to grow crops.

The correct answer is C: "The aim of large logging operations in tropical rain forests is economic gain, rather than sustainability. Therefore, the shared resources in the forest could become depleted".

Explanation:

The tragedy of the commons occurs when natural resources of collective use inevitably derive in overexploitation which finally leads to its destroying or depletion.

It describes a situation in which individuals, motivated by their own personal interest, end up overexploiting some limited resources that are shared with other individuals. It reflects a social context over common resources -such as seas, forests, rainforests, grasses, sweet water, among others-  where personal interests get in conflicts with common interests.  Overexploitation of a common resource by a single individual, on many occasions, end up reducing the social well being and even damaging the individual that is producing the damage.

This is happening in the rainforests, where a few companies are being temporally economically beneficiated by large logging operations. Every small native population -that are living and depending on the land, on the trees, and the forest ecosystem in a general aspect- are being damaged by these operations, as they are deprived of using these resources.