As Earth Overshoot Day looms, we urge people to take up the One Planet Challenge

Published 23.09.09

On September 25th, humanity will reach an unfortunate milestone. According to data from Global Footprint Network, We will have demanded all the ecological services – from filtering CO2 to producing the raw materials for food – that nature can provide this year. From now until the end of the year, we will meet our ecological demand by depleting resource stocks and accumulating greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. That’s why BioRegional is urging the public to take up the One Planet Challenge for sustainable resource use.

The resource overshoot looks a great deal worse when drilled down to the UK level.  It has been calculated that if everyone lived like the average UK resident, we’d actually have depleted our resource stocks much earlier – by the end of April! Put another way, we’d actually need the resources of 3 planet earths to see us through to the end of the year.

Jane Hersey, Footprinting and Materials Manager at BioRegional said: “It is a big job for UK residents to do their bit in turning this situation around, but it can and must be done because our current way of life is not only causing life threatening climate change but also deforestation and a loss of biodiversity. We are storing up big problems for ourselves.”

“The first step is for people to find out where their biggest resource impacts lie and that’s where the One Planet Challenge comes in. We are asking people to use our free on-line tool to work out their personal eco-impact, the tool will then generate a personalised action plan to help them to shrink their impact and because sustainable living means using resources wisely some of the tips can help you to save money. Hundreds of people have already taken up the challenge but we need more people to come on board. There’s no time to delay.”

Some of the actions that may come up in the plan include composting waste at home, sharing car journeys and eating a low meat and dairy diet. Users can update their impact as they take action and see how it shrinks.

You can go online and get started at http://calculator.bioregional.com

Notes 

Global Footprint Network has calculated Global Overshoot Day and is committed to a world where all people have the opportunity to live satisfying lives within the means of one planet. The organization is working to make ecological limits a central factor in policy and decision-making by advancing use of the Ecological Footprint, a measure of how much nature we have, how much we use and who uses what. See www.footprintnetwork.org for more information.

Earth Overshoot Day is being marked by conferences and high-level discussions as well as grassroots campaigns by Global Footprint Network partners around the world. For a list of events, please visit www.footprintnetwork.org/earthovershootday/events.