“Blue Marble” – Credit: NASA
August 22 is Earth Overshoot Day – In 8 Months, Humanity Exhausted Earth’s Budget for the Year.
Today, August 22, is Earth Overshoot Day, marking the date when humanity has exhausted nature’s budget for the year. We are now operating in overdraft. For the rest of the year, we will maintain our ecological deficit by drawing down local resource stocks and accumulating carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Just as a bank statement tracks income against expenditures, Global Footprint Network measures humanity’s demand for and supply of natural resources and ecological services. And the data is sobering. Global Footprint Network estimates that in approximately 8 months, we demanded more renewable resources and C02 sequestration than what the planet can provide for an entire year. In 1992, Earth Overshoot Day—the approximate date our resource consumption for a given year exceeds the planet’s ability to replenish—fell on October 21. In 2002, Overshoot Day was on October 3. Given current trends in consumption, one thing is clear: Earth Overshoot Day tends to arrive a few days earlier each year.
Source/Continue reading → www.footprintnetwork.org
Già ad agosto abbiamo consumato le risorse annuali del Pianeta
Ogni anno si anticipa sempre di più la drammatica data dell’Overshoot Day. In questo 2012 cade proprio oggi. Ciò significa che da oggi si sono esauriti i beni naturali che il pianeta è in grado di generare in un anno. In pratica in meno di otto mesi sono state consumate le risorse di dodici. Questo triste anniversario è pensato dal Global Footprint Network. Nel 1987 la data era stata fissata al 19 dicembre, l’anno scorso al 27 settembre.
Fonte/Leggi tutto → ilsole24ore.com
