Humans Have Used Up Yearly “Budget” Of Natural Resources For 2013

The concept of the Earth having “ecological limits” is hardly a new idea. Put simply there is the assumption that the Earth can only provide a certain amount of natural resources and cope with a certain amount of pollution in a sustainable way. The idea of Earth Overshoot Day, explained by the FootPrintNetwork.org, is that every year we exceed our annual sustainable limit and every year that limit is coming earlier. This year we reached the Earth Overshoot Day on August 20th 2013 while in previous years it came much later (earlier is worse/later is better).As the two images show we are now essentially “over our limits” for the rest of the year. If you imagined the Earth like a bank account we would effectively be overdrawn from now to the rest of the year. Though there is one key problem which is that we have been overdrawn for over 30 years now causing sustained permanent damage every year and we are becoming overdrawn “faster” every year.

Of course it isn’t all doom and gloom and it is possible to change the way we interact with our world for the better. This isn’t a “carbon scaremongering” tactic to levy extra taxes upon people but this is an effort to explain to people that we must use resources more cautiously and we must treat the environment like the fragile being it is. In effect we must start living within our means, not on our current course of destructive over-consumption.

To read more about Earth Overshoot Day and its significance please see here.

Images courtesy of FootPrintNetwork