On August 2. 2017, we reached a crucial day for our earth and for all of us that enjoy the pleasures of living on it: Earth Overshoot Day. In other words, this is the date by which we have used more of earth’s natural resources than the planet can renew in the whole year.
We did this in only eight months.
So What Now?
Every natural resource we consume, from this point on, is in effect, unsustainable. Every year, the Earth Overshoot Day lands a bit earlier than the year before. Every year since 1969 we have used more resources than planet earth has been able to reproduce.
The Green Danes - or Are We?
The Danes are known as green pioneers and are portrayed by green fields with scattered turbines gyrating by the sheer force of the wind. We are also known as the people who enjoy bicycling everywhere, and perhaps all this makes us the happiest people on planet earth. So how happy would planet earth be if everybody lived like we do in Denmark? Well, unfortunately, if they did, then Earth Overshoot Day would, in fact, arrive much earlier: April 12th!
We use way too many resources.
Let’s Make it Better!
OK, the numbers are scary - but let’s not indulge in scare tactics. At think.dk we prefer to look at what each of us can do to create a positive effect on pushing back the overshoot date! So let’s start by looking at some of the pledges introduced by the team behind the “earth overshoot day" website that can easily be incorporated into your day-to-day lives.
- Try a new vegetarian recipe. (It takes 14 times as much biologically productive land to produce 1 ton, or 907 kilograms, of beef as it takes to produce 1 ton of grain. Pork? 1.9 times as much)
- Ride social! Cars are responsible for 19.7% of the global carbon footprint. So jump on that bike - or if you have to take the car, fill it up with people going the same direction. GoMore, Snappcar, letsgo and other sharing economy apps are a great way of reducing your global carbon footprint.
- Take on food waste! Cook only what you can eat, and when you heat water for your coffee or tea, heat only what you need. Modern apps such as TooGoodToGo or yourlocal mean you can also reduce food waste and can get a good deal on delicious meals from bakers and restaurants all around Denmark.
At think.dk, we support these pledges - and we host events that aim to help you shrink your ecological footprint even further:
- Repair your clothes, your bike or technical gadgets (or at least give it a try) instead of buying new. There are repair cafés all over the country that can help you if you don't want to wait for our next event. Reduce your consumption, and if no fix helps - get a used replacement! In Facebook groups like 'free your stuff' or on DBA you can get almost anything for a fraction of the new price or even for free with the right timing - and you won't use up any new resources.
- And the same goes the other way around: go through your stuff. There are probably many things that you don't use which are still fine. Pass them on instead of just letting them collect dust or throwing them out. Lend them out if you want to hold onto them. Like this, others don't have to buy new stuff. We are in the process of setting up a 'Library of Things' for our community, and if you need tools you can already get them now!
We Can’t Change the World Overnight - but We Can Change It!
Those are just a few reasons that motivate us every day to grow our community further - to bring together People who want to start somewhere, in order to realize the change they want to see in our world. Join us now!