Prithvi hits ‘overshoot day’: NGO’s warning of resource deficit

According to the Global Footprint Network and WWF, the date – called “Earth Overshoot Day” – is a turning point when people have used “all ecosystems can regenerate in one year”.

“From January 1 to July 28, humanity has used up as much from nature as the planet can renew throughout the year. So July 28 is Earth Overshoot Day,” said Mathis Wackernagel, president of the Global Footprint Network.

He continued: “The earth has a lot of reserves, so we can exhaust the earth for some time but we can’t use it forever. It’s like money; the amount we earn for a while Might cost more than that until we go broke.”

According to measurements made by researchers in the early 1990s, it would take 1.75 Earths to permanently provide for the world’s population.

The Global Footprint Network said Earth Overshoot Day has already fallen over the past 50 years.

– uneven load –

In 2020, the date moved back three weeks due to COVID-19 pandemic, before returning to pre-pandemic levels.

The burden is not spread evenly. If everyone lived like an American, the date would have fallen even earlier, on March 13, Wackernagel said.

Two NGOs point fingers at the food production system and its “considerable” ecological footprint.

“Overall, more than half of the planet’s bio-capacity (55 percent) is used to feed humanity,” the two NGOs said.

“A large proportion of food and raw materials are used to feed animals and animals that are then eaten,” said Pierre Canet of WWF France.

In the European Union, “63 percent of arable land … is directly linked to animal production”, he said.

“Agriculture contributes to deforestation, Climate change Emissions of greenhouse gases, loss of biodiversity and degradation of ecosystems, using a significant portion of fresh water,” the NGO said.

Based on scientific advice, he advocates reducing meat consumption in rich countries.

“If we can halve meat consumption, we can push the overshoot date forward by 17 days,” said Letitia Meles of the Global Footprint Network.

“While limiting food waste will push the date back 13 days is not insignificant,” she said, adding that a third of the world’s food is wasted.

This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.

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