Ecological Debt Day. We’re all living on credit for the rest of the year
On Wednesday 2 August, the people of Earth officially started living on ecological credit. This means we have exhausted the natural resources available to humanity for one year.
Humanity started accumulating the ecological debt in the early 1970s. In 1970 Ecological Debt Day (sometimes called Earth Overshoot Day) fell on 29 December. Since then, we’ve lost 30 days of self-sufficiency from the planet every ten years. Our planet is now living on credit for the rest of the year.
Related
- Last chance to vote on the European Tree of the Year
- The end (of toilet paper) is near. The EU wants change
- The Black Sea waters will be repopulated with laboratory-grown algae for the ecological reconstruction of the coastline
- Photovoltaics is the cheapest source of electricity. Will the government hinder its development?
- Scientists raise the alarm. Critical moment for Earth is coming
The Earth lives on credit
Ecological Debt Day is calculated separately for each year, taking into account the Earth's ability to restore enough natural resources to cover humanity's ecological footprint.
The moment Ecological Debt Day ends means humanity starts living on borrowed resources. From 2 August onwards we are living on credit at the expense of future generations.
To calculate the date of the Ecological Debt Day, data collected by the United Nations, as well as climate advocacy organisations, is used. One of the most important indicators is the ecological footprint. It consists of water, fossil fuel and soil consumption, carbon dioxide emissions and the number of fish caught.
Calculations by the US-based Global Footprint Network indicate that humanity began incurring an ecological debt in the early 1970s. It has been reported that mankind now lives as if it had as much as 1.7 of planet Earth at its disposal.
Source: polsatnews.pl
