I show this every year, it's one of the most important dates we should study, for years we have been taking more resources than our Earth can replenish, this charts shows how each year we use more. There are many organisations who produce information, and loads who actively work to changing the date. This year humans will use the resources of one and three quarter earths.
Another great chart, it shows each country and when their own overshoot day is, as you can see UK's date is June 3rd, so here we use double the renewable resources, we all need to see these dates, they are scary, this is our world. You can see previous years dates here.
Here we try and live by this thought, we can't change this huge planet, but we can and do change our little bit, we look at one use plastic, it's a very convenient and sturdy packaging, but look carefully and you can avoid it, sadly we do not have a packaging/zero waste shop close by.
We are also aware of working conditions in other countries, who use unsuitable labour (children), with terrible pay and life styles to give richer countries cheap products, the cost to the earth of shipping items across vast seas. We live in a commercial world, governments need the taxes on what we spend to prop up their budgets, but look at the profits made by so many companies, it's obscene. Here in UK we have terrible polluted rivers, for decades nothing has been done, the shareholders got richer, now in crisis, companies want people to pay more, this is not how our world should be.
I'm far from perfect, but being aware and trying to do the best I can, which is what the bottom photo is begging us to do, loads won't care and carry on as they have always done, this is not our Earth, it belongs to the children of the future, and we need to ensure we improve and leave something they can live on. I just hope masses of people realise in time to change and improve the date.
I see New Zealand's overshoot day is even worse April 11th. I have cut down on purchases and buy natural fabrics that don't end up in landfill. That date is a shock.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter told me something shocking recently. In the UK the average number of new items of clothing a person buys each year is in the 80's. We have both only bought a couple of things and, like you, are pretty horrified by the thought that most of the items bought here will have been made abroad in sweatshops.
ReplyDeleteYes, we can all do our little bit but what will have to happen to make governments take real notice? We already have terrible fires and floods, droughts and desertification and every year the insect population depletes.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how the Net Zero fanaticism is in direct contrast to much of this responsible living. Cobalt from mines using child labour, forced replacement of perfectly satisfactory cars with new EVs, wiping out agricultural land for solar farms that produce so little power as to be just virtue signalling epitaphs. And so on ...
ReplyDeleteIt does seem shocking to see how early we overshoot in this country. I don't go aimlessly shopping anymore. We have so much stuff that we don't need much of anything new. I have spent money on clothes in the past year, due to losing weight, but most items were bought second hand from charity shops. I've now got to the point where there's nothing I really need to buy. I do try to pass on stuff I no longer want or need to others who might need them, at local zero waste events. Not everyone can afford the things they need, so if I can pass things on for free, I'm quite happy to do so and save them buying new.
ReplyDeleteYikes, Canada's overshoot day is so early in the year. I try, as do you, to do my part, but I know of many who don't seem to care at all.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.