Degradation is reversible

The Earth Overshoot Day, that took place this year on August 1, caused the public to ponder over many issues. How much earlier this day will come next year? What will happen when the Earth will lose the opportunity to lend to humanity? The World Wildlife Fund proposes to put the questions differently: what can each of us do to reverse the process of planet's degradation?

The view that the major damage to the environment is caused by large industrial objects is mistaken! According to WWF, up to 70% of the ecological footprint left by people falls on household consumption and the needs of ordinary citizens. The future of the planet depends on those simple everyday decisions that each of us takes daily.

Top 10 countries with the biggest ecological footprint per person, source WWF

Buy a plastic bag or grab a bag for products from the house, drive two stops by car or walk, eat local fruits for the season or those that are grown abroad ... All this together forms our eco-footprint. It is important to realize that ordinary people hold the keys to a healthy and prosperous future of the planet", says Pavel Boev, the first coordinator of the Green Economy Fund program.

Despite the fact that the Earth Overshoot Day has already passed, WWF continues the campaign "Let's return the day to the planet". It popularizes eco-habits in everyday life and teaches the rules of life in harmony with the environment. As part of the program, WWF talks about how to prepare a list of necessary products before purchasing, how to reduce the amount of household waste, reduce electricity consumption and much more. Specialists of the Foundation argue that following certain simple principles will help to close the credit taken from the planet and push the Earth Overshoot Day for days, and for bold predictions, even for weeks ahead.

European ecological footprint, source WWF

The fifth part of the human's ecological footprint is food and drinks. At the same time, a third of the purchased products are discarded. The correct principles of meeting the nutritional requirements bear a huge potential for reducing eco-footprint. Throwing out food half as much, people could transfer the Earth Overshoot Day by a week and a half closer to the end of the year. Another 12 days can be returned to the planet, using private car twice less as often. The required kilometers can easily be reached on foot, by bicycle or public transport.

But nevertheless the main part of the ecological footprint is formed by the carbon component. The key to maintaining a balance between consumption of bioresources and the ability of the planet to resume them lies precisely on decarbonization. Reducing the carbon footprint by half, we could transfer the Earth Overshoot Day to the beginning of November. That is, to return to the level of friendly ecology ... to the end of the last century!

America’s ecological footprint, source WWF

The degradation of the planet is reversible, and there are many instruments to achieve this goal. One of them - legal regulation, as well as penalties, motivation, encouragement. However, the environmental consciousnessof the society plays a leading role in inhibiting of the degradation process.

The role of the creative enlightener was largely taken up by WWF. The project "Earth Overshoot Day" is held in Russia from 2015 and has no analogues yet. Last year, the campaign covered more than 10 million people, and its scale is only growing. Today the Foundation calls on everyone to a dialogue about the need for careful treatment of the resources of the planet Earth and assures that it's health depends on the thoughts and actions of everyone.

Victoria Romanova, Russia, Moscow

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