Even if you have never taken out loans, tried to rely only on yourself, and did not depend on anyone, you will still owe money from July 29 since you live among people on planet Earth. The Earth Overshoot Day is coming when we start living on credit.
This day we run out of Earth’s resources. It is calculated simply. Scientists compare the human ecological footprint to the planet’s ability to regenerate its resources and absorb human waste.
Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year.
In 2021, it falls on July 29.
To determine the date of Earth Overshoot Day 2021, Global Footprint Network combined the most reliable data and formed the most reasonable assumptions to assess humanity’s resource situation.
Changes in carbon emissions, forest biocapacity, and other factors impacting global biocapacity or the Ecological Footprint from January 1 to Earth Overshoot Day 2021 were evaluated. The main drivers were the carbon Footprint (increased 6.6% from 2021) and a decrease in global forest biocapacity (reduced 0.5% from 2021).
If we imagine the Earth as a giant spaceship, then on July 29, we have used up the reserves set aside for this year of our journey. If we spend resources at such a pace and further, we may simply “not reach” wherever our ship is headed.
According to scientists from the Global Footprint Network, the main reason for the fact that the Day of Eco-Debt came just seven months after the beginning of the year is an increase in the carbon footprint (by 6.6%) and a decrease in forest area (by 0.5%). To provide resources for all people on Earth, we need not one but 1.75 planets.
Soon, two planets won’t be enough. Some more radical environmentalists point out that now the calculations are more accurate since we can operate with a large amount of data. We also missed the planet in the 1970s, when the eco-long day fell on December-November.
By the way, if in 2019 Earth Overshoot Day also fell on July 29, then in 2020 – on August 22. They attribute this to the pandemic, during which we used less transport and, therefore, left less carbon footprint.
More often than not, dates like these impress people with increased sensitivity to the environmental agenda. Most will say “joke” to themselves and drive a car to the nearest supermarket to impulsively spend their money.
Nothing happened. Which bank will ask for a new loan? What bailiffs will come for me if I fuck more this year than last? Let these strange freaks with their vegetarian diets, reusable shopping bags and reduced consumption worry about what is happening on the planet. And I already have enough stress at work, and indeed look at what is happening in the world – an epidemic, a hybrid war, floods, an abnormal heat, in Africa it snowed. So what are you scaring with eco-debts? Here you rather think, as if the mind did not move.
Greenbelarus states an exciting comparison: from time to time, we all look like those inadequate neighbors who broke bottles on the lawn in a drunken brawl and then, when they cut our legs, get angry and indignant – who threw glass here? People with environmental awareness start with themselves.
Buying less unnecessary things, giving up products that you can easily replace with healthier foods, and avoiding unnecessary trips. These habits very soon form a social circle, which gives strength. Mutual help comes to the place of anxiety.
You find that you are not alone, that even a stranger who shares your ideals can help you and smile. And then the message that “the resources of the planet have come to an end” becomes not an alarm bell of the apocalypse, but a warning – do a little more this year, so that next year it will be a little easier for you and others.
If you have ever gotten rid of a bad habit, such as quitting smoking,reduction you remember the surprise when it turned out. It seemed even yesterday that you could not imagine your morning without a cigarette. And you certainly didn’t think you could get through a stressful situation without a pack in your pocket.
But time passes, several times you break down and suddenly “bam” – you no longer smoke. And sometimes sports interest arises, but what else can I refuse? Everything that is done out of curiosity and passion bears fruit. You can quit smoking, stop eating sweets, and go around the world. But what we do base on the “must” principle leads to breakdowns. The ropes will burst, and we find ourselves in the store, buying from the shelves everything that can extinguish our inner fire of anxiety.
Unfortunately, anxiety is gradually becoming our second nature. This is especially felt in a country where, perhaps, no one can feel safe anymore. When I start talking about things like “heatwave infestation,” I speak about floods in Germany, China, Africa, about the temperature dome in British Columbia, about forest fires in Yakutia and the western United States, call the number of victims among people and animals, then in the head of my interlocutors from time to time the “block” is turned on.
They can no longer perceive this level of information threat. And at the same time, you understand how important it is to say that if the situation on the planet does not change, then soon there will be no safe place to fly to, having received a visa and bought a plane ticket. These are processes that cover the entire Earth, which every year are signaling louder and louder – too heavy loads for our spacecraft. If something is not done, then we will not reach.
People who found a landfill near their home are divided into two types. Some will grumble and complain that someone has thrown garbage under their windows. Soon the dump will start to grow, along with it will grow self-pity, thoughts that we were unlucky and so unhappy.
Resentment, anger, and, at the same time, powerlessness will swarm inside. The day will come, and someone from the family will already throw garbage into this dump so as not to go far. Acceptance will gradually come, although self-pity will not disappear anywhere and will only cover everything inside with a kind of spiritual mold. Every unnecessary purchase, every bottle drunk will be justified by our “plight.” After all, how else – under my house is a dump that spoils my life.
Another type of people will pack up and clean up the garbage before it has grown, even if it was not he who littered, but someone else. After all, the law of littering is such that if you leave one bag of garbage to stand for a week, then two more will appear next to it. And the dump will start to grow exponentially. Therefore, it is better to get rid of this “weed” today.
To do this, you just need to get up and do it. Such people open a bottle of wine not because they feel bad but because they feel good. And their day is more filled with joy even in the most challenging times when the barometers of anxiety are off the scale and information thunderstorms are confusing.
Because those who do not allow landfills near their homes to grow, who have the strength to deal with the ecology of their yard, those people find strength, which means they will have power for new achievements. They can help those in trouble. And for them, there is not even a question of whether to help or not. After all, such people understand the interconnectedness of all processes. They know that “eco-debt” is a question of collective responsibility, which cannot be fenced off with the position: “I’m doing everything right.”
On this planet, it will only be possible to continue the journey if we take care of our spaceship altogether. The sooner we understand this, the sooner our worries will be replaced by joy.
