Category Archives: Global Sustainability

I was wrong about Earth Overshoot Day this year… It is worse than I thought

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On May 31, 2010 I wrote about Earth Overshoot Day and its significance. To re-cap, we are living beyond our means on this Planet Earth, and Earth Overshoot Day signifies the point in the year that we have already used up our full year’s allotment of resources.

I had previously said that Earth Overshoot Day would arrive on September 20th of this year. Wow, was that date off. Turns out that the date will actually fall on August 21st (tomorrow!!!), a full month earlier. So what’s the big deal?

The Telegraph has a good article on the significance of this sudden and precipitous change.

This year the moment we start eating into nature’s capital or ‘Earth Overshoot Day’ will fall on 21st August, a full month earlier than last year, when resources were used up by 23rd September.

It appears that increased worldwide consumption has put a huge strain on the world’s climate and resources. This growth and consumption is unsustainable. In fact, any growth at all is unsustainable. Just to make sure that we all understand the implications of this term, the following is the definition of “unsustainable.”

  1. Being invalid.
  2. Being indefensible, untenable, unwarrantable or unjustifiable.
  3. Being unbearable.

From the same websters-online-dictionary.org source, synonyms are

  1. controvertible, indefensible, invalid, unsound, untenable, shaky, weak.
  2. Consider also: feeble, defective, faint, flat, flimsy, fragile, rickety, thin, watery, false, light, ailing, cowardly, inadequate, infirm, nerveless, poor, sickly, unstable.
  3. Other: flawed.
  4. Expression: impossible to back up, on shaky ground.

Scares me.

Sounds like we need a big wakeup call. What will it take to change our culture and economic policies? I guess the current weather trends and long-term economic “downturn” aren’t enough. Perhaps blind optimism should end and practical, strong, creative, unselfish realism should take hold.

Are we listening?

Can our lifestyles be supported indefinitely? (Earth Overshoot Day arrives this September)

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Earth Overshoot Day is scheduled to take place this September 20th. It arrives earlier on the calendar almost every year. A couple of days ago Peter Gorrie of the Toronto Star wrote a great article entitled “When consumption’s in the red, we’re in trouble” which really captured my interest. I wondered why there is no outcry on a daily basis as we are clearly living beyond our means on this planet, and then I remembered that it has become acceptable for individuals and nations to borrow to live a lifestyle that is clearly beyond our means and is most definitely unsustainable. We borrow money and spend much of our lives in debt, we “borrow” resources that the Earth cannot possibly continue to supply for very much longer (we tell ourselves that someone in the future will figure out something in the nick of time – usually a future technology that has yet to be invented or perfected). We protect our comforts and continue to acquire wealth, use up available resources, purchase consumables, etc… Which leads me back to where I started.

So, what exactly is this Earth Overshoot Day and what does it mean?

Earth Overshoot Day doesn’t have any particular significance on the calendar. It is symbolic, a way for us to wrap our minds around the truth that as our population numbers grow and as our hunger for prosperity, energy and consumables increase, the Earth cannot provide what we desire. Rather than focus on the dire consequences that lie at the end of our projected path, it would be helpful to examine and implement practical solutions that all of us can collectively follow in order to push overshoot day past December 31st. The prize being that our Earth would be able to support our activities. And those of our children. And our children’s children… The alternative is unthinkable.

Earth Overshoot Day marks an unfortunate milestone: the day when humanity begins living beyond its ecological means. Beyond that day, we move into the ecological equivalent of deficit spending, utilizing resources at a rate faster than what the planet can regenerate in a calendar year.

Globally, we now require the equivalent of 1.4 planets to support our lifestyles. Put another way, in less than 10 months, humanity will have used ecological services it takes 12 months for the Earth to regenerate.

[From September 25 was Earth Overshoot Day 2009 ]

In 2003, Global Footprint Network was established to enable a sustainable future where all people have the opportunity to live satisfying lives within the means of one planet. They have a fabulous, very informative and practical web site with a very interesting footprint calculator that allows an individual to assess his or her ecological footprint. And lots of practical data and solutions. Enough to really make a difference if everyone took them seriously. Including me.

Arctic ice melting FAST in summer heat

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Vast amounts of arctic ice are melting in this summer’s heat. Scientists are awaiting a record low polar ice cap. While this may be exciting to those of us who aren’t crazy about the cool temperatures in southern Ontario this summer, the trend which has been accelerating for a number of years now can only end badly.

So, how about some good news, for a change? I promise to work on that 🙂

Psychological barriers affect our reaction to climate change

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Change is hard. Threats that seem nebulous are difficult to react to in ways that radically alter our lives.

I think that most people would recognize that climate change data is complex, and not always easy to wrap one’s head around. At the same time, we are continuing to find out that things are changing that will likely have major effects on the Earth and its inhabitants. What to do?

The American Psychological Association (APA) has studied the psychological factors that have an effect on our responses to the threat of climate change.

Despite warnings from scientists and environmental experts that limiting the effects of climate change means humans need to make some severe changes now, people don’t feel a sense of urgency.

[From Psychological factors help explain slow reaction to global warming, says APA task force]

Not really a surprise here. Scientists and government leaders who insist we need to change our lives in ways that change our habits, consumer-oriented culture, lifestyle and priorities are not generally well-received. For why should we trust sources that haven’t always been accurate in terms of assessing risks and predicting specific outcomes? And why should we mess our lives up so much if there might not actually be a climate change crisis coming down the pipe? (For the sake of argument, ignore the compelling evidence, data trends and scientific consenus – in fact, the APA has shown that our brains often deal with the climate change threat in exactly this way, by undervaluing risks and/or moving into “denial” mode).

In my view, the most important contribution of the study is in answer to the question, “How can psychologists assist in limiting climate change?”

Most people hate the idea of being manipulated. Think incentives instead of manipulation. Economic incentives, strong social marketing, etc…

The full report (pdf format) can be found at http://www.apa.org/releases/climate-change.pdf

The myths of “zero emission”

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The Nissan Leaf has just been announced. While this electric vehicle is an extremely welcome step toward reducing our dependence on vehicles powered directly by fossil fuels, it is far too easy for us to ignore the complex web of energy and resources which are required to manufacture, transport and use the Leaf. We do the same thing with other items we consume, whether it be disposable shavers or a sophisticated piece of electronics. In each case, energy and resources are used in the mining operations, metal resources are extracted from the earth, the metals are refined, fossil fuels are extracted, petrochemicals are created, other materials are extracted and manufactured, transportation is required at each and every stage, and the list goes on…

For the Leaf, not only do a lot of energy and resources go into the manufacture of each electric vehicle, but it doesn’t end there. The energy used to power it isn’t “zero.” Yes, zero at the tailpipe, but the electric grid still has to supply the energy (from fossil fuels, nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, solar, etc…). And the batteries used to store the energy are not easily disposed (like any other batteries we use on a much smaller scale, they have to be treated as hazardous waste). And after 10 years or more, the vehicle is finished, and on we go to better technology and fancier bells and whistles.

This isn’t to take the wind from Nissan’s sails, but the problem of energy and resource consumption and waste on our planet is systemic. Our collective aspirations and our technological world combine to create a “consumption spiral.” We are gradually becoming more aware of the problem, and many of us have accepted that the path we find ourselves on is unsustainable. We cannot keep on using up finite energy and other non-renewable resources. These will diminish, and then there will be no more. Buying into the concept that electric vehicles (or recycling newspapers or changing our light bulbs or using extra home insulation) are going to solve the problem is an easy way to sidestep the reality and perhaps delay the inevitable just a little bit.

The truth is that in order to stay on this planet, what is required is total waste reclamation and zero emissions, from ALL sources, not just those we see at the final product.

That being said, “way to go Nissan!!” Now, what’s the next step?