- Earth Load Day: Living as if 1.7 Earths were available
From Thursday, humanity consumes more resources than Earth can regenerate in a year. In other words, we live as if we have 1.7 Earths at our disposal. This is reported by the organization Germanwatch, citing calculations by the Global Footprint Network based in the USA and Switzerland. This day falls one day earlier than last year. The overuse of Earth includes consumption of fish, arable land, or wood, as well as the planet's capacity for waste and emissions.
Air travel: A minority causes global harm
Airplanes are particularly harmful to the climate, causing about three times the greenhouse effect of the same amount of CO2 emitted on the ground, emphasizes Germanwatch. A reason for this is contrails. In contrast, rail traffic offers a more sustainable alternative, as it can be up to 28 times more climate-friendly than intra-European flights.
A very small part of the world's population is responsible for this significant driver of the climate crisis with their flying habits, explains Jacob Rohm of Germanwatch. For example, over 60% of Germans say they rarely or never fly, according to the organization. Moreover, over 80% of the world's population has never boarded an airplane.
Germany has been living beyond its means since May
According to calculations by the Global Footprint Network, Germany's natural resources were exhausted by May 2nd. The high consumption of meat and other animal products has a significant impact on the use of natural resources, according to Germanwatch.
To reduce resource consumption, the German Federal Association for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) demands a law with clear protection goals. This is necessary to create responsibilities and incentives for a sustainable economy, says BUND chairman Olaf Bandt.
Positive outlook
Germanwatch also has some good news: "For decades, Earth overshoot has increased almost every year, but it has been fluctuating at a high level for about ten years now," says political business manager Christoph Bals. "The good news is that it seems the turning point has been reached." He sees the global rise of renewable energies, storage technologies, electric mobility, and heat pumps, among other trends, as reasons for this. These and other trends must be strongly accelerated to prevent climate tipping points and further significant species loss.
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