Earth Overshoot Day 2019 is earlier than it ever has been before. Today, 29th of July 2019, humans will have exhausted the allowance of the planet's natural resources for the entire year. July 29 marks Earth Overshoot Day (EOD), and for the rest of 2019 all the energy humanity uses is unsustainable in the long term.
It is the earliest that EOD has ever fallen, and means humans are using nature 1.75 times faster than Earth's ecosystems can regenerate.
Earth Overshoot Day. What you need to know!
Falling on July 29 means humanity is currently using nature 1.75 times faster than our planet's ecosystems can regenerate. It means humans currently consume 1.75 Earths every year. Last year EOD fell on August 1 while the year before that it was on August 3. It has been calculated that by 1973, when human consumption began outstripping what the planet could produce, EOD fell in early December. Before the 1970s, the Earth was able to renew all of its resources spent by humans every year.
Earth Overshoot Day? What is it?
Humanity would need 2.7 Earths if the world's population lived like the UK (Global Footprint Network)
EOD is an annual campaign by the Global Footprint Network (GFP) designed to draw attention to Earth's limited natural resources. Mathis Wackernagel, co-inventor of Ecological Footprint accounting and founder of Global Footprint Network, said: "We have only got one Earth – this is the ultimately defining context for human existence. We can’t use 1.75 without destructive consequences."
The day marks the point when the amount of energy and resources humanity is using exceeds the amount Earth can replace in that year
(Recommended: Earth Day: Colonialisme, Overexploiting Of Natural Resources).
It means that in just seven months, humans have exhausted the amount of water, soil, clean air and other resources that the planet can generate in 2019, meaning from now until December all the energy we use is unsustainable in the long-term. The extra waste we now produce cannot be absorbed and will cause harm, and we are using too many other natural resources - like eating fish, plant-based food and meat - too quickly.
The date of Earth Overshoot Day is calculated by comparing the amount of ecological resources the Earth can generate that year, by humanity’s demand for that year. According to GPD, overshoot is possible because we are depleting our natural capital. The costs are becoming increasingly evident in the form of deforestation, soil erosion, biodiversity loss, or the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
MoveTheDay is a campaign within a campaign - that is, an initiative to push back EOD by five days each year "allow humanity to reach one-planet compatibility before 2050". GFP says opportunities to move the day can be found in five areas: cities, energy, food, population and the planet.
- For instance, cutting CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels by 50% would move the day by 93 days
- Other ways humanity could MoveTheDate involve looking at the ways we design and manage cities and moving from sprawling, segregated cities to compact, integrated ones
- Local, plant-based diets are favoured over industrial animal-based ones since food production currently uses more than half of our planet's biocapability
- Protecting nature through conservation, reforestation and regenerative farming will also be key in helping sustainability. The GFP also recommends empowering women "leads to smaller, healthier and better educated families"
Earth Overshoot Day 2019 Earlier Than Ever: Using 1.75 Orbs
Sustainability how to improve it?
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There are a number of things you can do to help the move towards global sustainability.
- Recycle
- Cut energy use at home
- Minimise waste
- Grow your own fruit, veg and herbs
- Instal energy efficient appliances at home
- Compost
- Car pool and use public transport
- Go plastic free
- Buy from charity shops
- Cut down on meat consumption
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