On August 1, We've Already Used Up 2018's Supply Of The Earth's Natural Resources

But what does that mean? Will the world end tomorrow? Will there be electricity outages in all the cities, drought and fuel shortages? Is the apocalypse upon us?

No need to panic: the human race seems set to continue its lavish lifestyle. Simply, each year American NGO Global Footprint Network calculates the date on which humankind has consumed all of the resources which the planet is capable of regenerating in a year.

In 2018, Earth Overshoot Day has been estimated to fall on August 1. From today onwards, we'll be living on a "loan", that is, irreversibly draining resources which the planet is unable to regenerate.

Consumption Rises Year On Year

Each year, Earth Overshoot Day comes earlier. The estimated date for 1970 was December 31. In 1993, it was October 21. Then in 2004, September 1. Humanity is now using up the Earth's resources almost twice as quickly as in the 1970s: in 1970, the planet's ability to regenerate its resources and to absorb greenhouse gases was equivalent to the speed at with these resources were consumed over a twelve-month period. Today, these resources are drained after just 7 months.

Nonetheless, energy consumption varies greatly from one country to another, which is why an index is also published by country. This data corresponds to the date on which Earth Overshoot Day would fall if the whole world consumed the same amount as the country in question.

Among the countries included in the study, Earth Overshoot Day would fall on December 21 in Vietnam. In Qatar, where emissions per inhabitant are the highest in the world, overshoot day would already have taken place on February 9.

To visualize the imbalance between our consumption and the Earth's ability to absorb it, the NGO also calculates the number of 'planet Earths' which would be necessary to support our consumption. On a global level, the figure would be 1.7 planets, and the organization estimates that we'll exceed the 2 planet threshold before long, when our consumption is double what the Earth can supply.

If we look closer at specific countries, however, 5 planet Earths would be needed for the whole world to live like the US. Indeed, if everyone on the planet lived like Americans, the resources which the Earth is able to regenerate in a year would have already been consumed on March 15 this year.

Everyone's Responsibility

How can we reverse this trend? These alarming figures are merely a reflection of our culture of excessive consumption. But the situation can be reversed through political action and changes to our individual choices.

For example, replacing 50% of our meat consumption with a vegetarian diet would push the overshoot date back by five days, according to The Guardian. To get an idea of your individual impact, Global Footprint Network also offers an application which calculates your personal Earth Overshoot Day.

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