- Date: August 18, 2010
Humanity is currently using natural resources faster than they can be renewed, and according to data from Global Footprint Network, on August 21, 2010 our demand will exceed the ecological
- Date: August 18, 2010
Humanity is currently using natural resources faster than they can be renewed, and according to data from Global Footprint Network, on August 21, 2010 our demand will exceed the ecological services that nature can provide this year. We will reach ‘Earth Overshoot Day’, which is resulting in serious consequences for the planet. It has taken humanity less than nine months to exhaust its ecological budget for the year –from filtering CO2 to producing the raw materials for food.
Did you know? The average Ecological Footprint per person in the United States is 9 global hectares (22.5 global acres), the equivalent of about eight full-sized soccer fields. This compares to countries such as Pakistan, Congo and Haiti, which have an average Ecological Footprint of slightly more than one global hectare (half a global acre).
How is this calculated? Every year, Global Footprint Network calculates humanity’s Ecological Footprint – the amount of productive land and sea area required to produce the resources we consume and absorb our waste, including CO2 emissions. It is then compared with biocapacity, the ability of ecosystems to regenerate resources. Earth Overshoot Day, a concept devised by U.K.-based new economics foundation, is calculated from 2007 data (the most recent year for which data are available) and projections based on historical rates of growth in population and consumption, as well as the historical link between world GDP and resource demand. Last year, Earth Overshoot Day was observed on September 25, 2009. This year, overshoot day is estimated to come more than a month earlier in the year. This is not due to a sudden change in human demand, but rather to improvements in the calculation methodology that enable us to more adequately capture the extent of overshoot.
How big brands can help save biodiversity
For the last decade, we have been converting natural habitat for food production at the rate of 0.6% per year. But the Earth’s resources are finite, and if we continue to expand into natural habitat at the current rate there will be very little left by 2050. Increasing pressure on the Earth´s natural resources is not just linked to the rising global demand for food, fiber and fuel, but also to where and how global industries and their supply chains “sour