Ecological Debt Day
Encyclopedia
Ecological Debt Day, also known as “Earth Overshoot Day”, is the calendar date each year in which the total resources consumed by humanity will exceed the capacity for the Earth
to generate those resources that year. It is calculated by dividing the world biocapacity, the number of natural resources generated by the earth that year, divided by the world Ecological Footprint
, humanity’s consumption of the Earth’s natural resources for that year, and multiplied by 365, the number of days in one Gregorian calendar
year; expressed as:
When viewed through an economic perspective, Ecological Debt Day/Earth Overshoot Day represents the day in which humanity enters deficit spending, scientifically termed “overshoot
”. In recent years this issue has gained notoriety as it appears to represent a trend rather than a freak occurrence .
(NEF) marked Ecological Debt Day on that calendar year. Every year since then, NEF has calculated the calendar date of Ecological Debt Day for each subsequent year using the above formula. Ecological Debt Day has on average, each year fallen on an earlier date than the previous year. The authors of Ecological Debt Day argue that this fact constitutes a notorious trend in human society, in which humanity is falling deep into ecological debt
.
Humanity’s Ecological Footprint for the specific calendar year is an important component of both calculating Ecological Debt for that year and for the general idea behind Ecological Debt Day. One’s Ecological Footprint, be it of the world, a nation, a town, or of an individual represents the impact that entity made on the Earth that year by consuming a set amount of the Earth’s resources. The general Ecological Debt of each year is calculated by factoring in the world’s Ecological Footprint, however, each nation’s individual date on which it will reach Ecological Debt can be calculated by substituting that nation’s Ecological Footprint for a specific year in place of that of the world’s.
The other leading factor in determining date on which Ecological Debt occurs for a given year is the biocapacity of the Earth for that year. By engaging in activities that diminish the production cycles of natural resources, which can be the resources themselves, such as depleting forests for timber, humanity lessens the Earth’s biocapacity so that the number of resources able to be produced that year will be less than that of the year before. When viewed in terms of monetary debt, this idea can seen as compounding interest on an unpaid loan. Due to this factor, humanity’s over-consumption of the Earth’s natural resources is shown to be unsustainable as the Earth’s biocapacity will eventually collapse should this behavior continue. The Global Footprint Network, a partner of NEF, has calculated that humanity used 40% more resources in 2008 than the Earth was able to produce that year.
of 2008, the phrase environmental credit crunch
has also entered into use to convey the risks and consequences of consistently relying on finite resources.
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
to generate those resources that year. It is calculated by dividing the world biocapacity, the number of natural resources generated by the earth that year, divided by the world Ecological Footprint
Ecological footprint
The ecological footprint is a measure of human demand on the Earth's ecosystems. It is a standardized measure of demand for natural capital that may be contrasted with the planet's ecological capacity to regenerate. It represents the amount of biologically productive land and sea area necessary to...
, humanity’s consumption of the Earth’s natural resources for that year, and multiplied by 365, the number of days in one Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
year; expressed as:
When viewed through an economic perspective, Ecological Debt Day/Earth Overshoot Day represents the day in which humanity enters deficit spending, scientifically termed “overshoot
Overshoot
Overshoot may refer to:* Overshoot , when a signal exceeds its steady state value* Overshoot , when a population exceeds the environment's carrying capacity* Overshoot , an aborted landing...
”. In recent years this issue has gained notoriety as it appears to represent a trend rather than a freak occurrence .
History
Though humanity first went into overshoot in 1986, Ecological Debt Day was first observed on December 19, 1987. Before that date, humanity’s consumption of the Earth’s natural resources was outweighed by the Earth’s ability to regenerate its resources. To elicit discussion on the topic of natural resource consumption, the New Economics FoundationNew Economics Foundation
The New Economics Foundation is a British think-tank.NEF was founded in 1986 by the leaders of The Other Economic Summit with the aim of working for a "new model of wealth creation, based on equality, diversity and economic stability"....
(NEF) marked Ecological Debt Day on that calendar year. Every year since then, NEF has calculated the calendar date of Ecological Debt Day for each subsequent year using the above formula. Ecological Debt Day has on average, each year fallen on an earlier date than the previous year. The authors of Ecological Debt Day argue that this fact constitutes a notorious trend in human society, in which humanity is falling deep into ecological debt
Ecological debt
Ecological debt is a term used since 1992 by some environmental organizations from the South. The first one to use this term was the Instituto de Ecologia Politica from Chile . J.M. Borrero, from Colombia, a lawyer, wrote a book on the ecological debt in 1994...
.
| Year | Overshoot Date |
|---|---|
| 1987 | December 19 |
| 1990 | December 7 |
| 1995 | November 21 |
| 2000 | November 1 |
| 2005 | October 20 |
| 2007 | October 26 |
| 2008 | September 23 |
| 2009 | September 25 |
| 2010 | August 21 |
| 2011 | September 27 |
Factors Behind Ecological Debt Day
Ecological Debt Day is founded upon two scientific measures; humanity’s Ecological Footprint and the Earth’s biocapacity.Humanity’s Ecological Footprint for the specific calendar year is an important component of both calculating Ecological Debt for that year and for the general idea behind Ecological Debt Day. One’s Ecological Footprint, be it of the world, a nation, a town, or of an individual represents the impact that entity made on the Earth that year by consuming a set amount of the Earth’s resources. The general Ecological Debt of each year is calculated by factoring in the world’s Ecological Footprint, however, each nation’s individual date on which it will reach Ecological Debt can be calculated by substituting that nation’s Ecological Footprint for a specific year in place of that of the world’s.
The other leading factor in determining date on which Ecological Debt occurs for a given year is the biocapacity of the Earth for that year. By engaging in activities that diminish the production cycles of natural resources, which can be the resources themselves, such as depleting forests for timber, humanity lessens the Earth’s biocapacity so that the number of resources able to be produced that year will be less than that of the year before. When viewed in terms of monetary debt, this idea can seen as compounding interest on an unpaid loan. Due to this factor, humanity’s over-consumption of the Earth’s natural resources is shown to be unsustainable as the Earth’s biocapacity will eventually collapse should this behavior continue. The Global Footprint Network, a partner of NEF, has calculated that humanity used 40% more resources in 2008 than the Earth was able to produce that year.
Interplay of Factors
Ecological Debt Day draws on the fact that due to these resources being finite, humanity's recent trend of consuming more resources than the Earth can produce each year constitutes a negative, unsustainable trend, termed overshoot. Ecological Debt Day is conveyed using economic imagery of monetary debt as a means of reaching the general public rather than just the scientific community. Since the financial credit crunchCredit crunch
A credit crunch is a reduction in the general availability of loans or a sudden tightening of the conditions required to obtain a loan from the banks. A credit crunch generally involves a reduction in the availability of credit independent of a rise in official interest rates...
of 2008, the phrase environmental credit crunch
Environmental credit crunch
The term environmental credit crunch refers to a crisis which exposes humanity's inability to indefinitely consume finite natural resources in order to sustain economic activity and a standard of living...
has also entered into use to convey the risks and consequences of consistently relying on finite resources.