July 29, 2021 | less than a minute read

Can we #movethedate?

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Gayle Monk

Legal Director

Get in touch

Gayle Monk

Legal Director

Today is Earth Overshoot Day - a stark and sobering reminder of just how much we overconsume.

The day marks the point in each calendar year when demand for resources exceeds what our planet can produce in that year. We're less than two-thirds of the way through the year and yet the Earth has already given everything she has - after this, we're mortgaging the future.

Earth Overshoot Day moves each year, and so with this stark warning comes also an empowering message: can we #movethedate? Can we push back that date every year, year on year, until finally, we get to a point where we are no longer mortgaging the future, but paying our debts? I believe we can.

I'm inspired by the 100 days of possibility that the Global Footprint Network are leading on, between today and COP 26 in Glasgow, to focus on what we can do to address this most vital of questions, and so I'll be looking at what I can do - personally and professionally - to #movethedate.

Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year. In 2021, it falls on July 29. We know it can be overwhelming to think about the various impacts of global ecological overshoot such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and extreme weather events (to name a few). However, thriving lives within the means of our planet are not out of reach. For 100 Days of Possibility, we’re highlighting ways for each country, city, or business to ready themselves for a world increasingly defined by overshoot. These responses also #MoveTheDate of Earth Overshoot Day. Check out the solution-of-the-day (at right), or explore solutions from 100 Days of Possibility that have already been unveiled (button below).