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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: 1) by khallow on Saturday August 15 2015, @01:26PM
Yeah the developing world loves to talk shit while they use our fertilizers, seeds, vaccines, import our technology, have benefit of our scientists/specialists consulting on their projects, and accept our aid hand over fist. Hey wiseasses, maybe if we didn't send so much shit to you we wouldn't have to produce as much.... Maybe if we stop giving you drugs and vaccines a lot of you will just fuckin die off so no need to worry about you becoming affluent.
Call our bluff, if you don't like being part of the civilized world.