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We've Run Out of Planet for the Year

Zach Frechette
By Zach FrechetteSep 29, 2009
Zach Frechette
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Shucks. It seems like sometime last Friday, around 3:00 p.m. EST, we crossed over the threshold of acceptable usage for Earth. That means we are now, according to The Footprint Network, living beyond our ecological means (put another way: We've used up the planet's resources faster than they can be naturally replenished). To further put things in perspective, we are using resources at a rate 40 percent higher than is sustainable-our collective global lifestyle would require 1.4 Earths so meet demand.This isn't simply a dismissible, alarmist PR-stunt; their methodology is Infrastructurist approved. Also, there is some good news: Earth Overshoot Day, as it's been dubbed, fell a whole two days later this year than last year. We can probably attribute most of that to the recession, but it's better than just being flat-out discouraged about the whole thing.Image from Earth Overshoot Day 2008.
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