How Private Property Can Solve Ocean Pollution

Andrew den Boggende, an undergraduate student and researcher at Florida Southern College posits, "Property rights, or the exclusive ability of someone to own, use, exchange, and/or gift property, have become one of the fundamental legal pillars of the modern world, yet they are mysteriously absent from the realm of oceans. No one truly owns, or is even allowed to purchase, property in the ocean. As a result, nobody has any incentive to preserve or cultivate the waters themselves.

"What has ensued can only be described as a textbook case of the tragedy of the commons. The oceans, in short, have become a giant dumping ground. Not only has a lack of property rights led to the systematic defiling of the ocean, this arrangement has also prevented people from cultivating the ocean’s vast untapped potential."

It's an interesting proposal. Read more about ocean property rights.