We talk a great deal of “pests” in various regions of the world. But are we the worst pests of them all? Photo: UpStreamPolicy.org
As of yesterday, humanity officially exhausted Earth’s budget for the 2016 year. Yes, the data is sobering, but it’s almost expected. It goes without saying that humans are depleting our planet of its natural resources at an alarming rate. And to make matters worse, this year we’ve reached our limit earlier than ever before.
Several years ago, the Global Footprint Network (GFN) came up with the idea of Earth Overshoot Day, the day in the year when our demand for natural resources exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year. It’s all formulated with around 15,000 data points per country, drawing on datasets from the United Nations and other recent scientific literature. The methodology may be difficult, but in the end it’s really just simple math—we are taking more than we should.
The balance between the availability and our demand had a turning point around the late 1960s. Photo: Global Footprint Network
As humanity’s pressure on Earth’s resources continues to grow, Earth Overshoot Day is arriving earlier and earlier each year. Last year, it arrived on August 9, five years ago it was August 11, 10 years ago it was August 24, and 40 years ago it was November 19. The data is, without doubt, reason to raise concern, but it should be understood that the rate in which Earth Overshoot Day has edged backwards has slowed over the past several years.
“The Paris climate agreement is the strongest statement yet about the need to drastically reduce the carbon Footprint, the largest contributor to Earth overshoot,” Mathis Wackernagel, co-founder and CEO of Global Footprint Network, said in a press release. “Ultimately, collapse or stability is a choice. We forcefully recommend nations, cities and individuals take swift, bold actions to make the Paris goals an attainable reality.”
Will awareness, education, and technology continue the slowing rate EOD’s arrival? Or will population growth and the pervasive carelessness toward the future of this planet result in its demise? As Mathis Wackernage said, “Collapse or stability is a choice.”
