Earth overload day: living as if 1.7 earths were available
Published: Thursday, Aug 1st 2024, 05:50
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As of today, Thursday, humanity will consume more resources than the earth can renew in a year. In other words: We are living as if we had 1.7 Earths at our disposal.
This was reported by the organization Germanwatch, citing calculations by the Global Footprint Network based in the USA and Switzerland.
The day is therefore one day earlier than last year. Earth overload includes the consumption of fish, arable land and wood, but also the earth's capacity to absorb waste and emissions.
Air traffic: minority causes global damage
Aircraft are particularly harmful to the climate. In addition to CO2 emissions, they cause around three times the greenhouse effect as if the same amount of CO2 were emitted on the ground, emphasizes Germanwatch. One reason for this is contrails. In contrast, rail transport offers a more sustainable alternative, as it is up to 28 times more climate-friendly than flights within Europe.
A very small proportion of the world's population is responsible for this major driver of the climate crisis with its flying behavior, explains Jacob Rohm from Germanwatch. Over 80 percent of the world's population has never boarded an airplane.
Planetary boundaries
Germanwatch is not the only one sounding the alarm about the health of the planet. International research teams have been working on the so-called planetary boundaries. Defined in 2009, they are intended to define a safe operating space for humanity and cover nine sub-areas, such as the use of fresh water, the function of the biosphere, the climate and aerosols in the atmosphere. Studies have shown that six of these areas have already been exceeded by human activities. These include climate change and changes in freshwater.
A 2024 study by the team led by Arne Tobian from Stockholm University and Johan Rockström, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), also investigated the extent to which the violation of one boundary can lead to the crossing of another. To investigate this, the team focused on the changes caused by climate change in the most important forest regions of the world.
Switzerland has been living on credit since May
It showed that the increase in the earth's temperature in the coming centuries could lead to critical excesses in the forest area. In extreme cases, the northern forests (boreal forests) could die out in their current area and grow further north. The mid-latitude forests could follow northwards, while the tropical forests could increase slightly in area, the study shows in a simulation. This and other factors would also lead to further changes in freshwater and cause feedbacks with the climate itself.
The expert team emphasizes how important it is to view these planetary boundaries as an interconnected and interdependent stability structure. Policy measures that reduce pressure on one boundary could have an impact on the stability of the Earth system in other dimensions of the planetary boundaries. This understanding is important to determine what actions should be taken or avoided to create a positive impact.
According to calculations by the Global Footprint Network, natural resources in Switzerland were already used up on May 13. According to Germanwatch, the high consumption of meat and other animal products has a major influence on the consumption of natural resources in Switzerland.
Positive outlook
Germanwatch also has some positive news: "For decades, global warming has increased almost every year, but for almost ten years now it has been hovering at a high level," says Political Director Christoph Bals. "The good news is that the tipping point seems to have been reached."
He sees the "global triumph" of renewable energies, storage technologies, e-mobility and heat pumps as one of the reasons for this. These and other trends must be greatly accelerated in order to prevent climate tipping points and massive further losses of species.
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