Yesterday (August 2, 2023) was Earth Overshoot Day.
What this day marks is when our consumption of natural resources exceeds what the planet can regenerate in that year. Another way to think about it is that you are given an annual budget. On what day do we collectively blow through it.
Not all countries dramatically overconsume. Jamaica, Ecuador, and Cuba at least are projected to make it to the final month of the year. But, Qatar and Luxembourg broke their budget by mid-February. Canada, United States, and United Arab Emirates were next in demanding more than is available, overshooting on March 13, 2023.
Looking at how countries rank among peers is helpful because so often in the United States, you hear blanket statements about what is and is not possible. And change is possible. Overall, we’ve been moving in the wrong direction, but there have been years where fewer resources were used. The pandemic’s pause in 2020, for instance, had results. They were not nearly what we needed, but it shows what is possible.
The Earth Overshoot Day people put together a list of 70 ways we can shave days off our collective impact, though not every action is of the same significance. Lowering speed limits does not have the same level of impact as instituting carbon pricing, but it does make a difference and it comes with another benefit: saving lives.
This is a thing we need to be careful of. Early in the pandemic, people were talking about how effective masks were — cloth vs. surgical vs. N95, and when only one person vs. multiple people wore them — and some took this information to mean that because no PPE was perfect, they might as well not even try. Holy hell, wrong conclusion you guys!!! Well, this is the same. Putting all of our efforts into a single low impact action is silly, but it’s sillier to do nothing. By now, word should have gotten around that here is no one magical solution that will reverse climate change; we need many tactics, and that is to slow its rate.
So, what’s on this list? You should go see all 70 and read about each, but here’s a sampling: reducing food waste through legislation, develop 15-minute cities, reduce the work week by 10%, reform parking in cities, improve effective bicycle infrastructure, and increase density of existing cities through infill housing.
There’s a theme in there: take it easy.
Photograph: Trumbull Street in downtown Hartford
Climate Possibilities is a new series about climate mitigation, along with resilience, resistance, and restoration. It’s about human habitat preservation. It’s about loving nature and planet Earth, and demanding the kind of change that gives future generations the opportunity for vibrant lives. Doomers will be eaten alive, figuratively. All photographs are taken in Hartford, Connecticut unless stated otherwise.