Six days from now we will have used up our ecological budget for 2015.
Our ecological footprint is how much we demand from nature. Presently, we consume 1.6 planets worth of earth’s resources.
| Overshoot occurs when:
HUMANITY’S ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT > EARTH’S BIOCAPACITY Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services (Ecological Footprint) in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year (biocapacity). |
Once again, World Overshoot Day offers us the chance to measure, explore and debate the growing gap between our demand for ecological resources and services, and how much the planet can provide.
An important date on the calendar for environmentalists and climate change activists, coming on the day that the Irish state’s sovereign wealth fund holds €70million in shares in polluting firms (coal and oil), as reported in the Irish Times, despite a planned low carbon economy by the government (even putting aside for a moment the government support for the new sustainable development goals being signed next month).
Last year Japan was the world leader in using up 7.1 times more than its own ecosystem can provide. While still retaining pole position Japan has reduced its consumption of ecological resources with it now using 5.5 times more than its ecosystem can provide.
The World Overshoot Day website includes a slider on the homepage with a range of stimulus facts and statements overlaid on a large beautiful photographs (great for whiteboard use or as part of a presentation).
Other resources:
- The Global Footprint Network produces the data and research on an annual basis on sustainable policy decisions in a world of limited resources | https://www.footprintnetwork.org
- To calculate your own personal Ecological Footprint, and learn what you can do to reduce it, go to: www.footprintcalculator.org and calculate by individual, city, region, at national and planetary level.
- Global Overshoot Day 2015: Humans have already used up 2015’s supply of Earth’s resources – analysis by Emma Howard (12 August 2015) in The Guardian.
- More on Earth Overshoot Day: www.overshootday.org or request public data package on the statistics that are used in the 2015 research from the Global Footprint Network (no charge for non-commercial use).