Earth Overshoot Day is the date when humanity’s annual demand on nature exceeds what Earth can regenerate over the entire year. This year Earth Overshoot Day fell on August 2nd 2017, the earliest date yet.
The costs of this global ecological overspending include deforestation, drought, fresh-water scarcity, soil erosion, biodiversity loss, and the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
For Earth Overshoot Day this year, Global Footprint Network, along with 30+ partners, is highlighting solutions and individual pledges to #movethedate. If we moved Earth Overshoot Day back 4.5 days every year, we would return to living within the means of one Earth before 2050; we are currently using 1.7 Earths. Reducing the carbon component of the global Ecological Footprint by 50% would move Overshoot Day by 89 days.
Food is another major Ecological Footprint driver. This year, Global Footprint Network collaborated with the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition to create an infographic that showcases food-based solutions to lower the Ecological Footprint. Cutting food waste in half worldwide could move the date of Overshoot Day 11 days; eating less protein-intensive food worldwide could move Overshoot Day 31 days. A list of existing solutions that can collectively get us out of overshoot is available here.
“Our planet is finite, but human possibilities are not. Living within the means of one planet is technologically possible, financially beneficial, and our only chance for a prosperous future,” said Mathis Wackernagel, CEO of Global Footprint Network and co-creator of the Ecological Footprint.
Find out how many planets it takes to support your lifestyle with this easy to use Ecological Footprint Calculator.
