Sustainable Future
Jack Santa Barbara writes that the impact on the ecosystem needs to be reduced by two-thirds.
comment: If you quit your job or close your business on April 19, how do you manage the rest of the year? By that date, you will have to harvest, store, or plant what you have previously harvested, or create your own to trade with others. Oh, I don’t use the vehicle after that. But that’s okay. Anyway, business and recreation facilities are not open.
The date April 19, 2022 is appropriate because on average New Zealanders have exhausted all the biocapacities (sources and sinks) that New Zealand is expected to regenerate throughout the year. This is known as Earth Overshoot Day.
Overshoot is a measure of how far you are beyond your biophysical limits. How much damage will be done to the ecosystem. Globally, this year is July 28th. It arrived much earlier than most countries and a day earlier than last year. It doesn’t look good for anyone who cares about New Zealand’s future.
Most of us will find it difficult to live comfortably from April 20th to December 31st under such circumstances. The purpose of this small thought experiment is to give us a sense of dramatic change that we need to make collectively to lead a sustainable life, within the limits of the land and water regeneration capacity that underpins us. Is to give to. Of course, it cannot be shut down and hibernated after April 19th.
What are the options?
To live a sustainable life, we need to reduce the impact on our ecosystem by two-thirds. If that sounds like a big question, then yes. But it is also necessary to claim to be actually alive within the biophysical limits of Aotearoa.
Unravel the concept of this overshoot day, better understand it, and understand how to move on December 31st each year. We live far beyond ecological means, and most of us are unaware of this. The unavoidable consequences of doing that are not clean and action is urgent.
Fortunately, the action is possible. More than half (61 percent) of our global ecological footprint (a measure of the amount of natural regeneration capacity we use) comes from our carbon emissions. Therefore, reducing the use of fossil fuels will drive us towards a safer climate and at the same time will contribute significantly to our overall sustainability. Climate is not the only sustainability challenge we face. We need to pay attention to our overall environmental impact.
The more money we have, and especially the more we spend, the more damage we do.
New Zealand’s ecological footprint is very high and per capita energy consumption is the highest in the world, so there are plenty of opportunities to reduce its footprint and drive Overshoot Day towards the end of the year.
Another important aspect of New Zealand’s Overshoot Day is that it represents average consumption levels. As is the case in this situation, the average can hide large disparities. Given the country’s level of inequality and the direct relationship between economic wealth and crossing planetary boundaries, there is a big difference in people’s ecological footprint, and thus their personal overshoot date. I have. For many of us, our personal overshoot day may be near the end of the year. That is, we are approaching a sustainable life, and some changes in our lifestyle can make a real difference.
At the other end of the overshoot spectrum is a rich lister. Its ecological overshoot is very likely to be significantly higher than the average New Zealander. Their personal overshoot day can be earlier than April 19th. Continued high levels of consumption throughout the year will be a major cause of our ecological overshoot. They are responsible for disproportionate amounts of ecological damage and therefore even greater responsibility for reducing their impact.
But you don’t have to be a rich lister to make a disproportionate contribution to overshoot. The more money we have, and especially the more we spend, the more damage we do.
If you have the courage to estimate your personal overshoot date, here’s the calculator. This may be a good place to start taking this issue seriously. It’s free, fast, fun, and informative.
Reducing energy consumption improves both climate and overshoot. Climate change is just one example of overkill.
Of course, individuals and households are not the only ones who consume and contribute to overshoot. So are businesses and other organizations, including central and local governments. Some organizations have begun monitoring greenhouse gas or carbon emissions. This is an important step.
Footprint calculation tools help these organizations and families understand their overall environmental impact. This is important because getting informed is important because it helps to plan for change that addresses not only climate change but also the deterioration of the wider ecosystem.
This is an example of how a broader perspective can help with planning and decision making. An exclusive or dominant focus on climate issues suggests that a simple shift to renewable energy technology is a high priority. A broader ecological overshoot perspective shows that while these technologies are likely to help move towards sustainability, the total amount of energy we use is also likely to be important. is showing. Whether you use fossil energy or renewable energy, the more energy you use, the greater the impact on the environment.
Reducing energy consumption improves both climate and overshoot. Climate change is just one example of overkill. This broader perspective helps prevent our actions from inadvertently exacerbating things.
Fortunately, there is much that families and organizations can do to reduce their footprint and move the overshoot day to the end of the year. Information is available to indicate which actions are most likely to have the greatest impact.
The challenge of overshoot is huge and there are some obstacles. Fortunately, most of them are in our heads and are therefore controllable.
Recognizing that ecosystem overshoot is a serious problem is an obstacle. Government documents, business reports, and even the media can be hard to learn about overshoot. And there is certainly no soap opera based on overshoot-it’s not part of popular culture.
Still, there is a vast body of research literature dealing with overshoot and accessible information to help you understand it and make behavioral decisions. Such a serious problem is quite noteworthy.
There is considerable evidence that you can live well with less. Avoiding this is a problem.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle to dealing with overshoot is the feeling that we are losing a good life or have to give up what we want. It is true that living within the limits of biophysics limits the material commodities that human beings can consume in a sustainable manner. But sustainable living includes material products that meet our needs, if not all of our wishes. Of course, wishes were mainly created by companies seeking profits, rather than offering high quality goods and services to meet our needs or actually contributing to our well-being. ..
The irony of this situation is that true well-being and life satisfaction do not come from pursuing materialistic directions, but from various immaterial activities that contribute to the well-being of communities and individuals. Shown by research. Consumerism conditioned to accept us is designed to keep us away from these genuine satisfaction and replace them with quick fixes that wear out, so we go back more. I need to come.
At first it may seem that we are giving up on some aspects of the lifestyle we want, but it may become clear that we improve our lives in deeper and unexpected ways. Give it a try and see for yourself.