On August 2nd, as news of Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire’s split riveted tempers, a far more important event went unnoticed by most of us: Earth’s “Overshoot Day.”

Earth Overshoot Day marks the day when humanity has used all the resources (ecological footprint) that the earth can replenish in one year (biocapacity). To put this in perspective, it’s like the day you spent all your annual income and started borrowing money or drawing on your savings to sustain your lifestyle. You guessed it, it’s not viable.

In the short term, debt accumulation may seem manageable, but in the longer term it is a certain disaster. What is even more worrisome is that unlike our personal finances, not only may we file for bankruptcy, but we will also face an unstoppable and uncontrolled economic decline that will lead to a cascade of challenges around the world.

To regenerate what humanity is consuming today would require an area equivalent to “1.7 Earths”. By the end of this year, the world’s population will therefore continue to draw on non-renewable reserves without the ability to treat their waste, including a significant amount of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main gas responsible for global warming. .

Like it or not, we will not escape decline, even if it seems that the economy’s calling is to grow. This reality rests on undeniable physical and mathematical principles: unlimited growth cannot exist on a planet with finite resources.

The foundations of our economy rest on the pillar of endless growth fueled by ever-increasing consumption. Capitalism encourages and amplifies rampant consumerism, forcing us to relentlessly draw on our planet’s finite resources to fill an insidiously created existential void.

It leads us to see material possessions as a symbol of success and happiness. It’s an endless spiral where buying more and more goods becomes a constant search for fleeting gratification.

Today we are 8 billion people. All of these people need to eat, dress, exercise on a daily basis, and in addition consume a variety of additional resources that sometimes serve only to satisfy the constant pursuit of pleasure, such as traveling or buying superfluous items on Amazon. .

However, depending on the level of prosperity, the ecological impacts vary greatly from country to country. If all of humanity were consuming at the same rate as we are, Earth Overshoot Day would occur on March 13, almost five months earlier. On the other hand, if we were to consume like Ethiopia, we would reach that date in December!

Therefore, rampant consumption, particularly in the northern hemisphere, is the primary driver of this accelerated trend. For example, we have emitted more CO2 since 1991 than in all of human history. However, some countries have far greater historical responsibility for their emissions than others, with the United States at the top of the list and Canada in ninth place.

Luckily, there are solutions to tackle this big problem. Specific sectors should be targeted to help humanity reduce its ecological impact and conserve the Earth’s biocapacity. Currently, 55% of the planet’s biocapacity is used for food. Therefore, reducing the consumption of animal products is one of the most important measures to consider in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, freshwater consumption, deforestation and biodiversity loss, among others.

Eating less meat, reducing food waste, adopting more active modes of transport, improving the insulation of our homes, investing in less polluting sectors and voting for progressive politicians are some of the individual solutions to consider.

The call for individual responsibility often triggers the same cynical objection: “What hypocrisy to make people feel guilty when big corporations and governments do nothing!” However, by bringing together the modest contributions of each individual, the impact can quickly become significant assume.