Ending Overshoot: Humanity's Critical Race
GENEVA, July 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- August 1st marks Earth Overshoot Day, the date when humanity has used up nature's resource budget for the entire year, according to Global Footprint Network. This international sustainability organization pioneered the Ecological Footprint.
Earth Overshoot Day falling on August 1st signifies that humanity is currently using nature 1.7 times faster than our planet's ecosystems can regenerate. This overshoot is possible by depleting natural capital, which compromises resource security. The consequences of ecological overspending are evident in deforestation, soil erosion, biodiversity loss, and the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which leads to more frequent extreme weather events and reduced food production.
Lewis Akenji, Global Footprint Network board member, states: "Overshoot will end. The question is how: by design or by disaster. A planned transition gives us better security than ceding to the whims of a planet thrown off balance by overshoot."
Although Earth Overshoot Day has held steady for a decade, it remains early in the year, occurring just after 7 months of the year have passed. The remainder of the year humanity lives from overuse, further depleting the biosphere. Even as the date holds steady, the pressure on the planet keeps increasing, since damage from overshoot accumulates over time.
Like athletes achieving breakthroughs, humanity must focus, innovate, and exert effort to succeed. For instance, Dick Fosbury revolutionized the high jump at the 1968 Olympics, when humanity used under one Earth. By 1988, when Olympian sailor Lawrence Lemieux stopped mid-race to rescue two capsized competitors, humanity was using 1.3 Earths. In 2008, as Usain Bolt broke his first Olympic records, resource use had grown to 1.6 Earths. Will we have the resolve to reverse overshoot with similar determination?
"Ending overshoot is essential. It is also possible, given human potential," comments Debora Barioni of Global Footprint Network.
Solutions that MoveTheDate are available and financially advantageous. Opportunities exist in five key areas: Cities, Energy, Food, Population, and Planet. The Power of Possibility highlights options that move Earth Overshoot Day. For example, cutting CO2 emissions from fossil fuels by 50% would MoveTheDate by three months. There are also businesses that MoveTheDate as they expand. They may be best positioned to gain value in a future of climate change and resource constraints.
More info at www.overshootday.org or media@footprintnetwork.org
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