#Eathovershootday is one of the most trending hashtags on twitter today. This is because today (29th July 2021) humans have consumed more natural resources from the Earth than it can regenerate in a year. Currently, we are using 74% more than the planet’s ecosystems can provide, which equates to 1.7 Earths a year.
Last year, Earth Overshoot Day was in August instead of July – this meant we used up Earth’s yearly supply of natural resources later in the year. This was due to the COVID pandemic resulting in a drop in carbon emissions as the world entered lockdown. Since then, with the easing of restrictions and bringing back (some) normality to our lives, our ecological footprint has increased by 6.6%.
Earth Overshoot Day has been calculated since 1970, but this year is particularly significant. Alongside 2019, 2021 is the earliest date that Earth Overshoot Day has ever been calculated to be on. On top of this, 2021 has been the 3rd warmest, 5th wettest and 8th sunniest on record.
So how actually is it calculated? Researchers from The Global Footprint Network tally up available supply of a country, looking at its biologically productive land & sea. They then calculate the demand for resources by the country’s population addressing factors such as food, forest, agriculture, and capacity for carbon sequestration. Of course, calculating how much people take compared to what Earth can regenerate isn’t an exact calculation. The Global Footprint Network have even written a guidebook on the limitations and criticisms of their research, highlighting some areas of incomplete data and information gaps. However, through their developing research over the last 50 years, the trend remains consistent – we are increasingly using more natural resources than the Earth can provide us with.
Our consumption-based emissions are a huge contribution towards the changing climate and excessive use of the world’s resources. Here are a few changes we can make to #movethedate in 2022:
- Get involved with nature – plant a tree, grow your own fruit/veg, try guerrilla gardening. According to the Earth Overshoot Day official site – if we planted 350million hectares of forest we could move the date by 8 days.
- Reduce waste – recycle efficiently, re-use items that have life in them, re-pair clothes and accessories that you think about throwing away. All of these things cut down on the emissions associated with simply throwing away an item as well as the emissions that come from the supply chain when buying something new.
- Cut down food waste – ensure food is stored correctly, freeze items & meal prep. If we cut half of the food waste worldwide we could move Earth Overshoot Day back by 11 days.
- Commute carbon free – reduced driving alone during the coronavirus pandemic is one of the reasons the date was later last year. By cycling, walking, or travelling with someone we can make a huge different to our individual carbon contribution.
Head over to https://www.overshootday.org/ for more tips and advice.
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