August 2, 2023 marks an important milestone that affects us all. Since 1987, we’ve been celebrating Earth Overcapacity Day with the aim of raising awareness of our ecological footprint. It is a reminder of how we use the resources of our precious planet.
With this initiative, she wants to raise urgent awareness among the population about the harmful effects and effects of this phenomenon on humanity and our beloved planet.
The creation of this jubilee is the result of the impetus of Andrew Simms, a passionate member of the UK organization New Economics Foundation. Your initiative inspires us to think of new ways to foster a more inclusive and sustainable economy.
What is Earth’s Overcapacity?
The earth’s overcapacity reminds us that we need to be aware of our ecological footprint. By choosing a date to evaluate human consumption relative to the planet’s productive capacity, we can better understand how our actions impact our homes. It is a call to action and to finding sustainable ways to live in harmony with nature.
The global ecological footprint is determined by the Global Ecological Footprint Network, a non-profit organization that works tirelessly to measure our impact on the planet. This number is obtained by dividing the global biocapacity, which is the natural resources produced by the earth in one year, by our global ecological footprint (the consumption of the earth’s natural resources by humanity in that year) and multiplying by 365 days (366 days for leap years).
This year, the Earth is in an ecological deficit, meaning that the world’s population’s demand for resources and services far exceeds the planet’s ability to regenerate natural resources. By 2030, the demand is expected to be so great that it will seem as if another planet Earth would be needed to meet it.
Global Footprint Network
The Global Footprint Network, also known as the Global Footprint Network, has been a beacon of hope since it was founded in 2003. As a non-profit organization, it brings together groups of independent experts in the US, Belgium and Switzerland to work together towards a sustainable future.
Its mission is to develop and disseminate tools that promote sustainability, ecological footprint and biocapacity and enable conscious and responsible decision-making. These factors provide an opportunity to measure and evaluate the amount of resources we use and have available to us. In this way we can determine the planet’s capacity to meet the growing demands of the world’s population.
Negative effects of consumption of natural resources
We have always learned to use Mother Nature’s gifts to meet our needs. The connection to nature reminds us of our ability to adapt and find creative solutions to live in harmony with the environment. We are part of this beautiful universe and can use its resources responsibly and consciously.
But the impulsive actions we took have had worryingly negative consequences. In the early 1970s we passed the critical threshold of overexploitation of natural resources, with dire consequences. However, there is still time to change course and build a sustainable future.
The consequences:
- Release of carbon dioxide particles and greenhouse gases, leading to climate change with negative impacts.
- deforestation.
- Loss of species, most of which are clearly threatened with extinction.
- Among other things, inflation.
Our beloved planet has been generous to us, but we have taken more than it can regenerate.
In addition, it is crucial to implement urgent policy measures that will help us transform our production and consumption model. This way we can build a more sustainable relationship with our planet.
Let’s be careful with the resources of the earth! Share useful and interesting information about the Earth Overcapacity Day in social networks. Use the hashtags #EarthOvershootDay #OvershootDay #OvercapacityDay
With information from: https://www.diainternacionalde.com/