Ecological Debt Day [Earth Overshoot Day]
Ecological Debt Day or Earth Overshoot Day is an annual date that symbolizes the point at which humanity has used up nature’s budget for the entire year. It is calculated by the Global Footprint Network, an international research organization that tracks humanity’s demand on natural resources compared to what the planet can renew.
Concept
The concept works like this – our planet has a certain capacity to produce natural resources and absorb waste products or emissions within a fixed timeframe – one year. This includes things like regenerating freshwater, producing food crops, maintaining fisheries, generating wood, and absorbing carbon dioxide emissions. Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity has effectively used up all the natural resources that the planet can sustainably produce in one year. So for the rest of the year, we are operating at an “ecological deficit or ecological debt” using up resources that were meant for future years.
Calculation
Earth Overshoot Day is arrived by dividing the world biocapacity, the number of natural resources generated by the earth that year, divided by the world Ecological Footprint, humanity’s consumption of the Earth’s natural resources for that year, and multiplied by 365. It is shown in the following formula:
World biocapacity ÷ World Ecological Footprintx365 = Ecological Debt Day
Trends
The first Ecological Debt Day was observed on December 19, 1987. Over the years this date has moved up on the calendar, which means we are using up Earth’s budget faster and faster. In 2021, Earth Overshoot Day landed on July 29th. In 2023, the date was August 2nd. By that date, humanity had used up all the planet could responsibly produce for that year already. The costs of ecological overspending include deforestation, soil erosion, collapsing fisheries, biodiversity loss, and the buildup of carbon dioxide emissions leading to climate change.
Relevance of the concept
The concept of Earth Overshoot Day helps illustrate the mounting pressure humans put on the planet and serves as a warning that using natural resources faster than Earth can replenish is unsustainable. It is a way of visualizing mankind’s ecological footprint and spurring action around living more sustainably within nature’s limited means.
