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All of Earth’s Resources Already Used, Earth Overshoot Day Reveals

August 02, 2018

Look. It’s not any news that planet Earth is doomed, and it’s all thanks to us humans who have effectively flooded our oceans with plastic, released harmful chemicals into the earth’s atmosphere and have now hit a new low, as it has been found that we have used more resources than the earth can replenish over the year.

Earth Overshoot Day happens once a year, and usually occurs when all of the natural resources on Earth have been used so much, that it actually goes over the amount that the planet can replace in the same year. Usually, this happens a lot later on in the year, but this time, Overshoot Day falls on August 1st, which marks the earliest date that this has come around.

Today is Earth Overshoot Day, which means we've used nature's resource budget for the entire year. #MoveTheDate pic.twitter.com/tPeQ5AHjK1

— WWF-Canada (@WWFCanada) August 1, 2018

@dw_environment shared a diagram on Twitter, which shows a selection of countries and how many planets would be needed in order to replenish their usage of natural resources in their country, with Qatar being the highest, with 9 planets worth of replenishment needed each year.

It's Earth Overshoot Day – humanity has already used up all of the planet’s resources needed to live sustainably for a year. Every year, this day comes earlier – but not all countries are equally to blame for overshooting our natural budget https://t.co/4O13nz5rhi #MoveTheDate pic.twitter.com/auozI6TSxt

— DW Global Ideas & Environment (@dw_environment) August 1, 2018

Not only does this day measure the amount of resources used, but it also measures how much pollution has been caused, in which this year, we have actually created more pollution that the earth can absorb. The shocking figures are only part of a bigger problem, and until everyone starts acting more environmentally friendly, then Earth Overshoot Day will begin to happen earlier and earlier.

Many people on Twitter have used these findings to share what would happen if we began treating the earth better, and stopped over-using resources that aren’t necessary. People have also mentioned how heart-breaking it is that we have let this happen to earth, and how all we’re doing is decreasing the amount of resources that will be available in the future.

We are consuming the earths resources 1.7 times faster than our ecosystems can regenerate them! On #EarthOvershootDay, lets commit to focusing on:

1. population

2. food

3. energy

4. cities

to #Movethedatehttps://t.co/RZr23cx9gV

— Erik Solheim (@ErikSolheim) August 1, 2018

https://twitter.com/nathaliajmag/status/1024664922746175491

https://twitter.com/nathaliajmag/status/1024664925531189249

The hashtag #MoveTheDate has been trending in certain countries, especially those with high usage and where Earth Overshoot Day has occurred earlier than usual. Along with this hashtag are different facts and diagrams, which show the statistics of how bad this epidemic is and how much pollution has increased over the years.

August 1st: the earliest Earth Overshoot Day ever. Today humanity has used all the resources that nature can renew in a year. From here on we are living on overshoot. https://t.co/yJ0yr9DOtC #MoveTheDate pic.twitter.com/evLvufo41B

— Kate Raworth (@KateRaworth) August 1, 2018

Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year. Today is overshoot day. #Transition can help #MoveTheDate pic.twitter.com/LXv9bZInFt

— Transition Network (@transitiontowns) August 1, 2018

Thread: 1/ Today is 2018’s Earth Overshoot Day – the date marked each year when we have used more from nature than our planet can renew in the entire year. Humans are only .01% of all living things yet we have already destroyed 83% of all wild mammals and 50% of all plants. pic.twitter.com/JtG7W0ncmL

— Leilani Münter (@LeilaniMunter) August 1, 2018

3/ For every billion people comes 10 billion farm animals at our current rate of meat consumption. Every single environmental crisis we face: climate change, ocean acidification, habitat loss, pollution, species extinction – all are accelerated by our rapidly growing population.

— Leilani Münter (@LeilaniMunter) August 1, 2018

The date for this annual day keeps on getting earlier and if we continue to treat our planet like this, then it only means that we will quickly run out of vital resources that are needed for everyday life. Think about when you could possibly be using resources that aren’t completely necessary and make some changes. Make the earth a healthy, happy place again, you’ll thank yourself later for it.

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