TTD TCC Loe) PLUM CMM dCs By Himanshu Verma. Contributor f our expenditure is more than our earnings, we are overspending and we are well aware of the consequences of doing that. Similarly, nature has its annual budget too. Our planet can produce or regenerate a limited amount of natural resources in a specific period of time. Dave McLaughlin, the senior vice-president of the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWE) Sustainable Food programme, aptly said in his article on LiveScience.com: “Planet Earth wien ae omuae Me Coma muoci meg the year people will be writing cheques our planet can’t cash.” When our demands consume more than what the planet can renew, we are overspending. The consequences of going over the limit in a financial budget are well- known, but do we realize the consequences of crossing the limit of our ecological budget, which could jeopardize man’s existence on this planet? Our planet, according to McLaughlin, is “like a gecko that’s lost its tail. Our planet can heal itself. It can regrow plants, rebuild fish stocks, re-absorb carbon from the air, and return clean water to lakes, rivers and aquifers. But these processes take time.” When humankind’s use of natural resources exceeds the planet’s ability to produce and replenish them, overshoot oleral nue What is Earth’s overshoot? According to OverShootDay.org, “Global overshoot occurs when humanity’s annual demand for goods and services that our lands and seas can provide— fruit and vegetables, meat, fish, wood, cotton for clothing, and carbon dioxide consumption— exceeds what Earth’s ecosystems can renew ina year. Overshoot means we are drawing down the planet’s principal rather than living off its annual interest.” Global Footprint Network (GFN) created Overshoot Day to send a timely warning of the irreversible damage man’s consumption of natural resources is causing. GFN FU TemaeleruernercinecBucer Tua ee-vetel develops methods to help allow the human economy to operate within the Earth’s resources. GFN’s calculations to determine the date of Earth’s Overshoot Day is based on a Soul esComcoyuerlele-bam atom oC vols ms biocapacity (the amount of resources an area can produce) divided by humanity’s ecological footprint (our demand for food, carbon emissions, livestock, plants, timber, and available space) multiplied by 365. If WWF's Living Planet Report is to be believed, we must start worrying, because according to McLaughlin: “We eventually crossed the invisible boundary. Starting around 1970, we began to take more from the planet each year than it could restore. Since then, the gap between our rate of consumption and planet’s rate of regeneration has widened from crevice to chasm.” The first overshoot day was calculated as December 23, 1970. In 2000, it fell on October 4; then on August 17, 2014. This year—further widening @ ata es LCL RO ewe ee The plausible reason could be that our population explosion, and the need for more food, infrastructure, and development, increased our demands, which is now pressing hard on our ecological resources. Greenhouse Permavrlissercevetel food production are considered to be largely responsible for the overshoot by causing climate change revevemebuaranaty extreme weather, which in turn contributes to food Tera nnw lays ending in high food prices that could ultimately lead to global unrest. McLaughlin suggested two oe YSeemsim eainera ars to deal with the situation: mitigation and adaptation. To aeraunuemiolere mere t bul a A WWF has taken initiative by way of mitigation. Starting with the “world’s largest food producers, down to traders, consumer brands, and retailers,” WWF is coordinating the production of food within the set ecological parameters, through efficient production