Earth Overshoot Day

You must have heard about environment day, women's day, labour day. We celebrate all these days. Have you heard of EARTH OVERSHOOT DAY? It is not celebration like all these days.  Then what is it? Let us know in detail.

           

We humans have progressed in all the fields but at the expense of our resources. The demand is way more than the supply. Earth overshoot day depicts the day when current usage of water, food and other resources exceeds the regenerating capacity of earth.

            

In the good old days this day usually arrived in the month of December, but this year it was on 19th August or we can say the 231st day of the year with remaining 134 days. This clearly denotes that we are running in deficit and consuming more and more resources beyond capacity.

       

This term was originally developed by the New Economics Foundation. According to Global Footprint Network our current rate of consumption requires the resources of one and a half Earth's. US, China, Qatar are leading cause of this situation. China's ecological footprint is the largest on the Earth but per capita footprint is less. Also US ranks second below china. America has nearly 5% of world's population but consumes 21% of world's resources. If we had lifestyle like Chinese resident then it would require 1.2 Earth while if we were to live like American resident it would require 6.5 earths and that of Qatar may require 4 earths.

            

The current scenario clearly indicates the need for efficient ways of energy consumption and adopting smarter ways to save resources. It summons the need of better recycling, Ecofriendly process of production of goods etc. At such hour countries like Australia, Brazil, Sweden has yet not reached the point of deficit spending. This sets an example for whole globe to match the earth overshoot day with 31st December and starting a new year with quantitative regeneration of resources by mother Earth.

      

Global Footprint claims that its work has inspired sustainability efforts in several countries ensuring smart growth and judicious national land use etc. At personal level it helps to measure your own ecological footprint in overshoot terms.

         

This motivates to inculcate avoiding of wastage of energy given as gift to mankind by mother earth. Simple things like switching off lights when not in use, pooling vehicles, cooking in closed vessel, at individual scale may bring out a major difference towards goodness. I will start my share to save resource, will you?

(Bhakti Donga)