The Earth enters in red numbers. This Wednesday the natural resources that the planet generates for a whole year are exhausted , according to the analysis prepared by the NGO and think tank Global Footprint Network (GFN). This day is known as Earth Overcapacity Day and means that human beings are living beyond their means, says Enrique Segovia, WWF conservation director.
The first record was made in 1970 , when the day of the Earth’s overshoot corresponded to December 29 , but only half a century later the worrying date is anticipated approaching the middle of the year, according to the study that records the footprint ecology from nearly 200 countries. In 2020, the date was delayed until August 22 , but in this case it was due to the confinement forced by the COVID 19 pandemic with the consequent interruption of production and consumption, associated with saving resources.
In Spain, this date arrived in 2023 on May 12 . That is, if the inhabitants of the Earth consumed the same as in our country, the amount of resources equivalent to 2.8 planets would be needed. The richest countries are those that consume more natural resources. “Qatar consumes nine planets, the United States more than five, Spain close to three and Yemen not even half of one,” says Segovia.
The negative effects are visible in natural settings, such as the Tablas de Daimiel National Park . “The water emerged and filled small lagoons. Right now it is an emergency action: they take out the water to conserve some of the biodiversity,” Rafael Seiz , coordinator of WWF Spain’s water policies, explained to laSexta. The expert insists that the cost of water is not being taken into account . “The lack of water for biodiversity, the destruction of habitats”, he lists.
From environmental activism they see it necessary to act at a political level , including these costs in the public accounts of governments, and daily, reducing waste, to stop looting our planet.