Earth Overshoot Day 2018

Carefully following the exchange rate, the external debt of the country and its own credit history, a person does not suspect that hourly accumulates a much more serious debt. We take credit every day from the planet, without the resources to close it once. But what happens if the "creditor" bills?

For most of us, August 1 is a normal day. The beginning of the last summer month, it's time to get ready for school and maybe get ready for vacation ... But environmental experts have marked this date in gray this year- the Earth Overshoot Day has come, and this time for a whole day earlier than in last. This means that the resources of the planet, which it is able to replenish during the calendar year, are exhausted, and for the rest of the year, humanity will live "on loan".

Mankind will live "in debt" the remainder of 2018, photo WEB

The concept of the Earth Overshoot Day was first used in the 70th year of the last century, and then humanity was "supposed" to the planet for only 7 days. It seemed that the situation was under control and there was no cause for concern, but 30 years had passed and in 2000 people had already been in debt for 90 days. Today the situation does not get better. After another 18 years, mankind spent the replenished resource of the Earth 153 days earlier and now will enjoy what our planet could give for a full healthy life for future generations.

Last year, the Earth Overshoot Day came on August 2, in this - a day earlier. It's only 24 hours, but what do they mean on a planetary scale? Every day 20 thousand hectares of forests disappear from the surface of the Earth, while almost 90 megatons of CO2 are emitted into the atmosphere. For a day, humanity consumes 12 million tons of food, of which almost one-third is simply thrown away.

Loss of the planet in 1 day, photo © wwf.ru

People live in such pace, so the planet can not meet their needs. We eat more seafood than the whole world ocean can restore, throw out the garbage in such a volume, which the Earth is not capable to absorb, we send gases into the atmosphere, which the flora does not have time to process. But once the resources of the planet will end. Therefore, in order to return debts, everyone should literally revise its consumer attitude towards it.

Today, the main "creditors" in the world are Brazil, Sweden, Canada, Russia, Norway, Congo. In contrast to them, among the largest "debtors" are Japan, Singapore, China, the United States, South Korea ... However, the debt will have to be given to all mankind. And judging by the forecasts of specialists, this will have to be done already by our children. At the moment, to cover the needs of a person, the resources of one planet is already not enough, and if we do not temper our appetites, by 2030 (just 12 years) people will need two more Earths for a comfortable life.

People throw garbage in huge volume, photo WEB

But tickets for some alternative planet are not on sale yet, which means that we'll have to take care of what's left on this one. And in the struggle for a healthy future, even a small step of each person is important. You can walk two stops on foot, add up your purchases in a fabric bag, and after resting at the nature, you can pick up not only your own, but also someone else's garbage. Everyone can help the planet!

Victoria Romanova, Russia, Moscow

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