Earth Overshoot Day

Today is the day that Earths resources are used up and we are now for the rest of the year using more than the planet can renew.

Will we ever learn

SOURCE
overshootday

In less than 8 Months, Humanity exhausts Earth's budget for the year Earth Overshoot Day 2016 lands on August 8, marking the date when humanity has exhausted nature’s budget for the year. For the rest of the year, we will maintain our ecological deficit by drawing down local resource stocks and accumulating carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We will be operating in overshoot.

On August 8, 2016, we will have used as much from nature as our planet can renew in the whole year. We use more ecological resources and services than nature can regenerate through overfishing, overharvesting forests and emitting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than forests can sequester.

a reply to: Mianeye

I don't have time to read through the whole thing, but the first issue I see with what you posted is the part that says we are emitting more CO2 than forests can sequester.

Forest don't even use the majority of co2 on the planet, algea in the oceans do.

Seems like another set of arbitrary parameters set up for fear mongering.

a reply to: watchitburn

I'm positive that the Algae is in the calculation, but we are not harvesting Algae.

About the forest, they are a huge carbon sink, and we have removed 80 % of the worlds forest and still counting.

SOURCE

The statistics paint a grim picture. According to the World Resources Institute, more than 80 percent of the Earth’s natural forests already have been destroyed. Up to 90 percent of West Africa’s coastal rain forests have disappeared since 1900. Brazil and Indonesia, which contain the world’s two largest surviving regions of rain forest, are being stripped at an alarming rate by logging, fires, and land-clearing for agriculture and cattle-grazing.

Btw. Are you saying we are not over doing the things like over fishing, deforestation, releasing more co2 than the planet can handle + hundreds of other things... that's denial, those things are happening.

a reply to: Mianeye

About the forest, they are a huge carbon sink, and we have removed 80 % of the worlds forest and still counting.

Not only but part of the forest removal is burning it, same with coal and oil. So not only are we stopping the manufacture of oxygen (living trees return oxygen, not dead ones) but we are returning all the sequestered carbon back to the atmosphere, uncovering ground that was once covered (and cooled) by forest and reducing water sheds (without forests, theres nothing to fix the soil and retain water so other life can utilize it).

After logging or slash and burn agriculture, the surface of the earth bakes in the sun, erodes during rains, silting up rivers and estuaries and all the other life that dwelled under the forest canopy disappears.

You can all learn about the calculation here,

The concept of "Earth Overshoot Day" is obviously not a scientific, nor even a probably accurate indication of ecological status, but it does serve a purpose IMO. It brings attention to several ecological catastrophes that are indeed ongoing, deforestation among those.

From the site itself:

Earth Overshoot Day is an estimate, not an exact date. It’s not possible to determine with 100 percent accuracy the day we bust our ecological budget. Adjustments of the date that we go into overshoot are due to revised calculations, not ecological advances on the part of humanity.

So it's essentially a made-up date, and one that ignores ecological advances.

But the good side is that, unfortunately, average people are not proactive nor curious. They respond to over-simplified assumptions. But in this case, at least they'll likely respond.

Deforestation is a major issue in many areas, notably the Amazon River Basin. Intrptr had it exactly right with his post above. It's not a question of carbon dioxide sinks; it's a question of pollution from crude logging methods, destruction of habitats, and a failure to foresee obvious results of the procedures used.

The real root cause is economics. The areas undergoing deforestation are typically in poorer nations where economic benefits outweighs future ecological concerns. If we could stop spending billions of dollars starting wars we have no business starting, trying to control the lives of supposedly free peoples, and pampering people because of historical atrocities and perceived present slights, we could use the money to help these countries grow in a more ecologically friendly manner.

I just wish they'd quit worrying about carbon dioxide and stick with real issues.

TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck
Words of wisdom from a moderator
Who wouldve thunk it

Well, I wasn't born with this information pre-loaded into my head, so I appreciate the data. Thank you!

Fishy

yes, the Earth is wearing out like a garmet.....God knows all about it, so no worry
He told us of this from the beginning!!

originally posted by: TheRedneck
The concept of "Earth Overshoot Day" is obviously not a scientific, nor even a probably accurate indication of ecological status, but it does serve a purpose IMO. It brings attention to several ecological catastrophes that are indeed ongoing, deforestation among those.

well, it does, not only that, long held concepts are starting to be made a a reality, like the Peruvian water pipe project boring into the Andes to bring water to the Olmos desert valley, where the dirt farmers will have water to raise planned orchards of all kinds, which will also mean other jobs for people in bringing all the stuff to market. The Olmos Irrigation Project will bring irrigation to some 900 square miles of desert, greening that area, and balancing the water supply overall.
That's enough of a lifetime to get on with without worrying about climate change per se, and balancing the ecology is a good thing.

a reply to: smurfy

Not just a lifetime... a lifetime with purpose.

We live on a miraculous planet that has the ability to provide us with everything our hearts could desire, down to the last person. Far from fragile, it is so resilient that it continues to provide despite our continual efforts to destroy the natural balances. It has survived nuclear explosions, wars, massive destruction campaigns, and yet it is still here.

But we have success stories too. I live in the Tennessee Valley, where TVA is king. Before TVA, the river was wild and unpredictable, going from barely a wide creek to a raging wall of water in days. It wiped out farm after farm, and destroyed home after home. TVA installed dams at strategic locations, allowing them to control the ebb and swell cycles, and also used them to provide electricity to the Valley. The lakes (reservoirs) that were created behind the dams became wildlife habitats and recreational utopias. Parks sprang up along the banks, and fishing exploded as a common leisure activity. Today, the fear of the river that once controlled people's lives is non-existent, and we have species of birds and water creatures that were near extinction.

No one lost. Everyone won.

I used to hunt on my great-uncle's land. It was on Sand Mountain, and had been sold to the coal mines here (with right of survivorship). Some years back, when it was being strip-mined, it was a mess. But after the mine was empty and it sat sallow for so many years (the old man forgot to die), it became a new oasis: the big holes became lakes, the clear-cut areas became woody thickets, and wildlife flourished. All man had to do for it to recover was leave it alone.

I think today, we have forgotten how nature's bounty works. Need more trees than we have? Plant them! Need more fish? Farm the ocean! Have dirty water? Stop putting trash in it! Then sit back and watch.

TheRedneck

a reply to: Mianeye

The new trend in energy will be "carbon upcycling" where CO2 will not just be pumped into the atmosphere but either stored or used to create useful products. I believe it was The MIT Technology Review where a guy added a recapture device onto the stack of electric plant (gas burning turbines). Using a small amount of electricity from the plant, a catalyst, they created graphene oxide and O2 with no carbon dioxide released at all.

In this month's (July/Aug.) printed version, p. 116, "Sucking Air", article they step through the demonstration plant in British Columbia, Canada where they suck in the atmosphere, process it through repurposed mining equipment, convert the CO2 to calcium carbonate pellets. Even though it is just a demo plant it can scrub one ton of carbon dioxide a day.

It is not random luck that MIT is involved with both stories. They have a stated goal of being a zero carbon energy research school with an added start-up assistance for some ideas. There is a great video talk about their idea for ARC and SPARC fusion devices that I found rather exciting (i.e., doable and soon thanks to material advances).

There are a bunch of smart people out there thinking about this issue. For only being 0.04% of the atmosphere CO2 has become a problem and there are solutions coming.

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

There is a great video talk about their idea for ARC and SPARC fusion devices that I found rather exciting

I had to Youtube that as it is something i know little about...Very interesting

a reply to: Mianeye

DP

a reply to: Mianeye

The video is a little long (I just watched the main talk, ~50 minutes) but the explanation on why fusion stalled out in late 1980s and early 1990s was priceless. The new REBCO magnets seem to be pushing the whole fusion process forward.

And you get feel a little smart for a while keeping up with an MIT professor! Glad you like it!