OVERSHOOT DAY
REPAIR THE FUTURE - RESOURCES
March - the first month of Spring, but also the month where Canada, USA and Denmark had their Country Overshoot Day using more natural resources than the planet can regenerate in a year.
Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year. If consumption and production were in balance, then Earth Overshoot day should be 31th of December.
International Earth Overshoot Day for all countries was in 2021 on July 29th.
SO WHAT CAN WE DO AND HOW CAN WE CHANGE IT?
We can - all of us - change A LOT by challenging single-use consumption to save resources.
Think of cotton pads for removing make-up. Millions of women around the world easily use 2-4 pieces everyday. Everyday.
If the same woman uses a reusable make up pad (also made from cotton) - imagine HOW MANY cotton pads are saved - after a month… after a year. Millions are saved.
Imagine this trend passing on to other single-use areas, like small plastic bags and kitchen paper towels.
It is important that we address that to create positive change it is not needed to live in a small cottage in the countryside. It is not an ‘all or nothing’ lifestyle we aspire to and encourage. Because everyone needs to buy things and upgrade. The important thing is how products are produced and to what extent, as well as what and how much we buy.
There are countless examples of alternatives to the conventional way we live today. Both in travel, construction and industry. And to live in balance with nature and the planet's resources is far from moving into a little countryside cottage and being self-sufficient. As modern city people, it is possible to live responsibly to an extent. But it requires seeking out knowledge and probably also to change a few habits or 5.
Our planet can actually produce an incredible amount of resources and absorb an incredible amount of CO2. We humans must manage and value differently so that we enter into a collaboration with nature instead of the opposite.
To be concrete. We emit around 70% too much CO2 and we use 40% too many natural resources. In other words, we do not need to make a full stop, but we do need to do things differently. We need to buy less and better, rethink, reduce, renew, recover, repair, refuse, reconnect, recycle, regain, and so on.
