On this Monday, July 29, 2019, humanity has already exhausted the natural resources of the Earth’s year: it is the overshoot day. She will now “live on credit”.
What is Earth overshoot day?
Earth Overshoot day is the calculated illustrative calendar date on which humanity’s resource consumption for the year exceeds Earth’s capacity to regenerate those resources that year.
It is calculated by dividing the world biocapacity by the world ecological footprint and multiplying by 365, the number of days in one year.
It is also translated in terms of number of Earth planet that would be needed to sustain humanity’s consumption of renewable resources in one year.
What do the Numbers tell us?
Since the 1970s, Earth Overshoot day has been progressing. This year’s it falls on July 29, the earliest it has ever been. We would need 1.75 Earths to accommodate our current consumption levels.
It’s clear: if the planet was a company, it would be bankrupt.
Depending on their habits, some countries need more than the average of 1.75 planets: France needs 2.5 planets while India needs just 0.7 planet.
Sources: Foot Print Network