| Earth Overshoot Day - Surpassed | 9 October 09 |
 September 25, 2009 marked "Earth Overshoot Day" - the day each year when humanity begins living beyond its ecological means. As of September 25 this year we are using more resources than Earth can regenerate and are using the equivalent of 1.4 planets to support our lifestyles.
Every year Earth produces a finite amount of natural resources - examples of overshooting include cutting down trees faster than they re-grow, catching more fish than are being beaded to stocks, and releasing more CO2 than can be absorbed. Earth Overshoot Day landed on September 25th this year. The Global Footprint Network calculates this day by taking the world’s Biocapacity, dividing it by the world’s Ecological Footprint and multiplying it by 365 days. In just 268 days the world used the biosphere’s entire capacity for the year. Then we start going into debt by depleting the Earth’s natural capital for the rest of the year. Earth Overshoot Day has moved forward an average 2-5 days each year. We will require two planets by 2030 if current lifestyles are maintained. View Earth Overshoot Day 2009 information pageView Earth Overshoot Day press release View September 25, 2009 Mother Nature Network article View October 2, 2009 Post-Bulletin article View September 25, 2009 EurActive article Sources: The Global Footprint Network, Mother Nature Network |
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