August 19th: Earth Overshoot Day 2014
Did you know that August 19th was special day – that is, in a negative way. It was the day in 2014 we Earthlings used up all the resources that nature provides to us during the entire year. From now until the end of the year we are living off of our “savings account”. In addition to living off the savings account (mostly fossil fuels and fossil water) we are polluting the environment and thus inhibiting nature from providing as many resources in the future. The Global Footprint Network calculates the deficit or surplus for each country, and combines those results to show the global deficit, and the calculation of Overshoot Day. Their August 19th newsletter describes this calculation and shows the country-by-country results. In the united states we will consume 190% of the resources that nature will provide to us during 2014. This is clearly not sustainable.
It is fair to assume that most people don't know about overshoot day and the implications of using almost twice as many resources as we receive as “income”. Spread the word. Tell all your friends and acquaintances. Think about your own use of nature's abundant gifts and then do something about reducing your own personal “footprint”. A carbon footprint calculator is available on this webside under the “Get Involved” tab.
Submitted by Dick Sprague