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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, @01:37PM
You do realize that the entire food chain thing is a completely solved problem, top soil and all, from dirt to your plate?
You do realize that Star Trek is fantasy, don't you?
So you don't realize this. Maybe you ought to read up on modern agricultural practices. No Star Trek technology is needed.
And that whoppers like that and your casual suggestions we build a Dyson Sphere to solve all our problems make it plain you're an idiot completely out of touch with reality, no?
I think rather it indicates your paltry imagination. This is a common problem with the people who claim we're using up resources despite the fact that we never run out of resources. We find ways to extract more of the resource, use or reuse it more efficiently, or use other things in its place. I used the Dyson Sphere example to demonstrate the ultimate absurdity of claiming that resources are restricted by surface area.
(Score: 2) by TrumpetPower! on Saturday August 15 2015, @02:50PM
Hey, I've got an idea.
You've got the solutions to all the world's problems, so why don't you...like...you know? Solve all the world's problems?
And if you say you can't, you're not in a position to or some other lame excuse like that, it only indicates your paltry imagination. After all, one of those jet-high mind fucks should do the trick, no?
So, what're you waiting for? The world needs a superhero to save it, and you know everything the superheroes do, so get out of your basement already and save the world!
b&
All but God can prove this sentence true.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday August 15 2015, @09:00PM
Hey, I've got an idea.
You've got the solutions to all the world's problems, so why don't you...like...you know? Solve all the world's problems?
I don't even need to do that. As I noted before, the various problems mentioned are already solved. It's just not worth the bother to implement them at this time.