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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