AUGUST 1 was Earth Overshoot Day but it was nothing to celebrate.
It was the date humanity used up its sustainable natural resources for the year.
From now until December 31 the world is in a situation of ‘ecological debt’.
Earth Overshoot Day was established by the Global Footprint Network in 1997 to measure how the world is spending its natural resources, with devastating results.
They found that humanity drains resources for almost two planets every year, giving the earth no time to recover.
Or in Spain’s case 2.3 planets, according to Juan Carlos del Olmo, general secretary of WWF Spain.
“We are submitting natural resources to huge stress,” he said.
Various factors have contributed to this situation such as the reduction in biodiversity, soil degradation of soil and extreme weather which is becoming increasingly more frequent and destructive.
The earth’s footprint on nature, based on criteria such as consumption of food and usage of forests, is still in credit at around 60%.
What puts the planet into the red is pollutant gases such as carbon dioxide, produced by fossil fuels.