Yesterday, August 1st, was Overshoot Day, the date when mankind's demand for natural resources exceeds the amount of resources that Earth is able to generate in the same year.

Earth Overshoot Day was established in 2006 to make people all over the world more aware of the continual erosion of natural resources. Every year, on a precise date calculated with the aid of a specific index, the point is reached when mankind has consumed all the resources Earth is able to generate that year. Everything consumed after that date is a debt to the environment, which we urgently need to start repaying. 

Unfortunately, this date seems to come earlier in the calendar every year (in 1997 it was at the end of September, while last year the date was 2 August). This means that

"every year, these resources are running out at a faster and faster rate. 

“To keep our economies running today, we are borrowing resources that will be needed tomorrow.  This vicious cycle cannot go on much longer: if we continue this trend, in little more than fifty years we may already have consumed everything available to us" by the start of the year.  And what are the consequences for all our lives?", commented Marta Antonelli, Head of the Research Program at BCFN Foundation. Estimates indicate that this year, to satisfy the current demand for natural resources, we are using the equivalent of 1.7 Earths.

But how do we consume these resources? 60% corresponds to the "demand from nature" for the absorption of carbon dioxide emissions. Each one of us could do something to improve the situation even by just changing our approach to food, since the way we produce it accounts for over 30% of our greenhouse gas emissions (more than heating, which generates 23.6% and transport, which is "only” responsible for 18.5% of the greenhouse gases produced worldwide).

To trigger change, the Global Footprint Network suggests solutions for moving the date towards the end of the year (#movethedate) by providing measurement methods, concrete commitments, and a new Ecological Footprint calculator. 

And you? What are you doing to move the date towards sustainability?