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We have already reached Earth Overshoot Day this year: August 1st marks the date by which humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services has exceeded what Earth can regenerate in 2024. For the rest of the year, we will be living on resources borrowed from future generations. This is the sad message spread by the Global Footprint Network, an international research organization that calculates the date each year, using National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts data. These are produced by the Footprint Data Foundation with York University in Toronto and are based on comprehensive UN data sets as well as complementary data from the most recent scientific literature. The calculations are contrasting the world’s demand on nature (ecological footprint), including demand for food, timber, fibres (cotton) and space for urban infrastructure with the planet’s ability to replenish resources and absorb waste, including carbon dioxide emissions. Humanity has accumulated an enormous deficit over the past fifty years and is currently living as if 1.75 Earths were available. “This overshoot is possible because people can harvest more than is being renewed, thereby depleting natural capital,” the Global Footprint Network explains in a press release. “The consequences of ecological overspending are evident in deforestation, soil erosion, biodiversity loss, and the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which leads to more frequent extreme weather events and reduced food production.” [+] more ...