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Earth Overshoot Day is the day when—according to estimates—the total combined consumption of all human activity on Earth in a year overtakes the planet's ability to generate those resources for that year.
How is it measured ? "It's quite simple," says Dr. Mathis Wackernagel of the think tank Global Footprint Network. "We look at all the resource demands of humanity that compete for space, like food, fiber, timber, et cetera, then we look at how much area is needed to provide those services and how much productive surface is available."
Here's his bottom line metaphor. Earth Overshoot Day is like the day you spend more than your salary for a year, only you are all humans and your salary is Earth's biocapacity. Ideally, Overshoot Day would come after December 31. It wasn't too far off in 1970, when it occurred on December 23. But Overshoot Day creep has kicked in ever since. August 13 is the earliest yet—four days ahead of last year's previous record.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/08/150813-earth-overshoot-day-earlier/
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 14 2015, @09:47PM
It's the conservatives who are to blame for the latter. For whatever pleiotropic reason, the asinine doctrine of "life begins at conception" almost always presents in individuals who hold conservative views on economics.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 14 2015, @09:51PM
Also Jesus Jumpers. For whatever reason, they feel like the have to have ten kids.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by gnuman on Saturday August 15 2015, @02:56AM
It's the conservatives who are to blame for the latter. For whatever pleiotropic reason, the asinine doctrine of "life begins at conception" almost always presents in individuals who hold conservative views on economics.
Actually, people that want more abortions should be anti-abortions. In nations where abortions are illegal, there are more abortions per capita than in nations where abortions is legal.
http://upsidedownworld.org/main/international-archives-60/2397-abortion-in-latin-america-still-illegal-still-killing-despite-growing-awareness [upsidedownworld.org]
Cuba is the only country in the region where abortion on demand up to the 12th week of pregnancy is legal, as it has been since 1965. And the abortion rate is less than 21 per 1,000 women of reproductive age, 10 points lower than the regional average.
In Uruguay, abortion recently became legal. And guess what happened? Number of abortions dropped by more than HALF! It turns out that if couples have a choice and a legal choice, then they tend to think things through instead of acting because "now or never".
http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/abortion-around-the-world-where-are-rates-highest/ [cbsnews.com]
Similar effect in US.
http://www.salon.com/2015/06/08/abortion_rates_are_going_down_except_in_states_where_access_is_most_restricted/ [salon.com]
So, if you want more abortions, you better plead the case to make abortions illegal. And if you want less abortions, you allow abortions for people that chose to have them performed *legally*.
(Score: 2) by kurenai.tsubasa on Saturday August 15 2015, @04:29AM
Well, that's fscking weird.
*wobbles with b33r in hand*
I don't pretend to understand non-Amazon women. Then again, granted, there's this annual festival thinger where the Amazons go out, get drunk, and fuck anything with a cock. But it's intentional! (No, boys, tonight is not the night! It's just Friday!)
Ok, I'm only a quasi-Amazon, not born Amazon, was Amazon for a while, kinda branched out. I'm on the pill. I really don't get it.
WTF is wrong with this species?!
Ok, confounding data point! Did the pill become free at the same time abortions were legalized?
There has to be something more to this effect. I'm not doubting the data. Does male aggressiveness increase when abortion is illegal? Correlation is not causation?