Today Wednesday August 2, 2017, we have according to Earth Overshoot Day consumed all the natural resources that the planet can produce in a whole year. This date was arrived at from the computation of a set of variable factors that are all linked directly to our way of life and generalised to all humanity. So as of today, Humanity would be living in credit and that it will be biting into next year’s reserves.  It was also found that in most cases this date always intervened earlier as we go as it were into the future.

Then until the end of 2017 and to continue to drink, eat, live in comfortable surroundings, heat our homes or move, we will be overstretching the ecosystems and jeopardizing our ability to regenerate our environment.

This “Earth overshoot day” is computed each year by the Global Footprint Network, an International Research Institute based in Oakland, California as from 15,000+ United Nations data through comparing the ecological footprint of humans whilst exploiting the natural resources of the Earth.

The resulting data are put against the bio-capacity of the planet to replenish its reserves and to absorb greenhouse gases.

The available resources or the equivalent of 1.7 planet is necessary to satisfy the needs of humans.

The “Overshoot Day” of the Earth has not stopped moving since 1969. All resources in excess in 1961, with a quarter of its unused reserves, land became unprofitable by the early 1970s. And that day kept getting sooner and sooner. This date was November 5th, 1985, October 1st, 1998, August 20 in 2009 and today as far as 2017 is concerned. However since the beginning of the Decade, the acceleration along the timeline got to be slower.

But it remains that at this rate, we would need two planets by 2030. And it would seem that at what is at issue here would obviously be global population growth, but especially lifestyles increasingly gourmet resources and dependent on fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas).  It is however acknowledged that all humans were found not to be responsible, however, in the same proportions as say an Australian or an American, it would take more than five planets

Excerpts of the Overshoot Day http://www.overshootday.org/newsroom/press-release-english-2017-calculator/

. . . . The costs of this global ecological overspending include deforestation, drought, fresh-water scarcity, soil erosion, biodiversity loss, and the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

The new Footprint Calculator allows users to measure their own demand on nature (Ecological Footprint) and assess their personal Earth Overshoot Day. A user’s personal Earth Overshoot day is the date Earth Overshoot Day would be if all people had their Footprint.

A personal Earth Overshoot Day earlier than August 2 means your demand on nature is higher than the world average. If it is earlier than April 24, it is higher than Germany’s average; if it is earlier than March 14, it is higher than the US average. (See here for all countries.) . . .