Originally Published September 17th, 2015 | By Jocelyn Mercado on pachamama.org

Earth Overshoot Day in 2015 occurred on August 13. This means that August 13 was the day when humanity’s annual demand for the resources that the Earth can provide (food products, resources such as cotton and wood, and carbon dioxide absorption) exceeded what the planet’s ecosystems can renew in a year. In other words, it takes 1.6 Earths to support humans’ demands. Recent estimates show that by sometime in the 2030’s, we will need 2 Earths to support us.

But the problem is, we only have one Earth.

Consumption Drives Climate Change

The overshoot is directly a result of our overconsumption of energy and materials.

We know that climate change is caused by an excess of carbon-based molecules in the atmosphere. These carbon molecules, primarily carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels, trap radiant heat and prevent it from escaping the Earth’s atmosphere. This is what warms our planet to higher average temperatures each year.

Energy consumption creates an excess of carbon in the atmosphere through the extraction of fossil fuels from the Earth and through burning those fossil fuels to create electricity and to fuel our transportation.

Materials consumption increases the carbon in the atmosphere as well. This is because it requires energy to mine, extract, harvest, process, and transport raw materials, and then more energy to manufacture, package, and transport the products to stores/warehouses/distribution centers and then to homes and businesses for use. Then after use, further energy is required to dispose of the products and the packaging.

Follow link to continue:
http://www.pachamama.org/blog/a-path-to-a-brighter-future-degrowth-and-deglobalization

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