Ecological Debt DayFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ecological Debt Day, also known as Earth Overshoot Day, is the (claimed) approximate calendar date onwhich humanitys resource consumption for the year exceeds Earths capacity to regenerate those resourcesthat year. Ecological Debt Day is calculated by dividing the world biocapacity (the amount of naturalresources generated by Earth that year), by the world Ecological Footprint (humanitys consumption ofEarths natural resources for that year), and multiplying by 365, the number of days in one Gregoriancalendar year:

When viewed through an economic perspective, Ecological Debt Day represents the day in which humanityenters deficit spending, scientifically termed overshoot. It is a rough estimate of time and resource trends,of measuring the gap between human demand for ecological resources and services, and how much Earth canprovide, made by the Footprintnetwork organization.[1]

Contents

1 Background 2 Earth Overshoot Day campaign 3 References 3.1 Notes 3.2 Further reading 4 External links

BackgroundAndrew Simms of U.K. think tank New Economics Foundation originally developed the concept of EarthOvershoot Day. Global Footprint Network, a partner organization of New Economics Foundation, launches acampaign every year for Earth Overshoot Day to raise awareness of Earths limited resources. GlobalFootprint Network measures humanitys demand for and supply of natural resources and ecological services.Global Footprint Network estimates that in approximately eight months, we demand more renewableresources and CO2 sequestration than what the planet can provide for an entire year.[1]

Throughout most of history, humanity has used natures resources to build cities and roads, to provide foodand create products, and to absorb our carbon dioxide at a rate that was well within Earths budget. But in themid-1970s, we crossed a critical threshold: Human consumption began outstripping what the planet couldreproduce. According to Global Footprint Networks calculations, our demand for renewable ecologicalresources and the services they provide is now equivalent to that of more than 1.5 Earths. The data shows uson track to require the resources of two planets well before mid-century. The fact that we are using, orspending, our natural capital faster than it can replenish is similar to having expenditures that continuouslyexceed income. In planetary terms, the costs of our ecological overspending are becoming more evident bythe day. Climate changea result of greenhouse gases being emitted faster than they can be absorbed byforests and oceansis the most obvious and arguably pressing result. But there are othersshrinking forests,species loss, fisheries collapse, higher commodity prices and civil unrest, to name a few.[1]

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The correlation between the development of a country using HDI andits natural resource consumption

Year Overshoot Date1987 December 191990 December 71995 November 212000 November 12005 October 202007 October 262008 September 232009 September 252010 August 21

2011 September 27[1]

2012 August 222013 August 202014 August 19

Earth Overshoot Day campaign

Earth Overshoot Day draws on the fact that due to finite resources, humanity's recent trend of consumingmore resources than Earth can produce each year constitutes an unsustainable path termed overshoot. EarthOvershoot Day is conveyed using economic imagery of monetary debt as a means of reaching the generalpublic rather than just the scientific community. The goal of Global Footprint Networks Earth Overshootcampaign is to bring the idea of limited global resources into peoples minds. The basic question is: Whathappens when an infinite-growth economy runs into a finite planet?[1]

References

Notes

1. Earth Overshoot Day is coming! (http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/earth_overshoot_day/)Global Footprint Network. Accessed: September 27, 2011.

Further reading

Daily, Gretchen C., and Pamela A. Matson (2008). "Ecosystem services: From theory toimplementation". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (105): 94559456. Easterling, William E. (2007). "Climate change and the adequacy of food and timber in the 21stcentury.". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104 (50): 19679. Friedman, Thomas (2008). Hot, Flat, and Crowded. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.ISBN 0-374-16685-4. Khanna, Parag (2008). The Second World. New York: Random House. ISBN 81-7036-406-X. "WWF: human consumption is outpacing earth's capacity". EurActiv.com. October 26, 2004. UpdatedDecember 14, 2012. Wackernagel, Mathis; Niels B. Schulz, Diana Deumling, Alejandro C. Linares, Martin Jenkins, ValerieKapos, Chad Monfreda, Jonathan Loh, Norman Myers, Richard Norgaard, and Jorgen Randers (2002)."Tracking the ecological overshoot of the human economy". Proceedings of the National Academy ofSciences 99 (14): 92669271. doi:10.1073/pnas.142033699. PMC 123129. PMID 12089326.

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External links

"Carbon offset" (http://www.carbonfund.org/). Carbonfund.org. Damassa, Tom (October 26, 2006). "Human Consumption Pushing Ecosystems to theBrink" (http://earthtrends.wri.org/updates/node/96). EarthTrends Environmental Information. Global Footprints Annual Report 2011(http://www.footprintnetwork.org/images/article_uploads/2011_Annual_Report.pdf) Global Footprints Publications(http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/publications/) Futehally, Ilmas. "Living Beyond Our Means" (http://www.strategicforesight.com/). Strategic ForesightGroup.

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Categories: Environmental awareness days Human ecology Environmental impact assessmentEnvironmental indices August observances September observances October observances

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