|The first colour photo of Earth, imaged in 1967 by the ATS-3 satellite.|
Based on the current global population and levels of consumption, we have as a species used up the resources the Earth can sustain for the year. From here on out we are in the red, ecologically speaking, and unfortunately this grim milestone gets earlier every year.
Today I also learned what my own personal Earth Overshoot Day is. By using a carbon footprint calculator, I discovered that if everyone on Earth consumed the way I do, we would surpass the resources Earth can provide by May, less than halfway through the calendar year. According to this, I live as if we have 2.6 Earths instead of one.
At least that makes my carbon footprint a bit smaller than the average Brit (3 Earths) and considerably smaller than is standard for my fellow Americans (5 Earths), but to an ecologically-minded person that was hard to hear.
If I'm honest, it was more than hard - I felt sick seeing those numbers, searching my life and knowing it to be at least in the right ballpark. I may be better than average, but I still consume resources and energy like Westerner, and that is not something our planet can sustain.We've used more resources than the Earth can renew and we've renewed more fossil fuel resources than the Earth can use.#EarthOvershootDay pic.twitter.com/ERPZexn8TT— Carbon Tracker (@CarbonBubble) August 2, 2017
|An excerpt from Climate Changed by Philippe Squarzoni|
The scientific consensus about what the future holds if we don't rein in our collective consumption is enough to scare anyone into inaction. It did so for me for years. It's so much easier to think that it's someone else's problem. But I have to live my life in a way that makes me feel like I'm part of the solution, not part of the problem. I'm going to volunteer my time teaching others about what they can do to move their personal Earth Overshoot Days closer to December even as I work on moving mine. I'm going to spend the time and effort to source food more locally and with less packaging and try to bring my single use plastic waste as close to non-existent as possible. I'm going to try to reduce my food waste as well, by buying only what I know I'll use. I'm going to investigate energy providers that use 100% renewables, learn to sew my own clothes and hopefully grow some of my own food at home. It isn't easy but it doesn't have to be uncomfortable either. We had to learn to use as much as we do. We can learn to use less.
The next 50 years are crucial for human life and life on Earth. It isn't just a job for corporations and governments - it's a job for all of us. We can embrace the opportunity of access rather than ownership of content. We can all be more careful shoppers, seeking out less packaging and only buying that which adds real value to our lives. We can stop chasing more and start appreciating less. We can be more intentional about repairing and reusing what we have, and recycling it or donating it when we're done with it. We can try to buy only the food we need and throw away less. We can refuse plastic straws, plastic bottles, plastic bags by being prepared with our own reusable alternatives. We can put pressure on local and national government. We can keep campaigning for corporations to pursue sustainable practices and design products that produce less waste.
Some day we can watch Earth Overshoot Day move later in the calendar each year.
I have to believe that we can.