Climate change is part of a bigger concept about how people live on this planet. The concept of sustainability: using the Earth’s resources in such a way that everyone gets their fare share and we use the resources at a pace that the can Earth naturally replenish them.
Earth Overshoot Day is our annual campaign that marks the date when humanity has exhausted nature’s budget for the entire year.
Earth Overshoot Day 2021 lands on July 29.
For the rest of the year, we are maintaining our ecological deficit by drawing down local resource stocks and accumulating carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Global Footprint Network
See Susan Aitkin, Leader of Glasgow City Council announce Earth Overshoot Day.
The Footprint calculator helps you see how your own activities are creating your own ecological footprint and a carbon footprint.
I have used the calculator for the last two years to monitor my own steps towards sustainable living. Each time I make a change and that change becomes a repeatable habit the calculator helps me see how that small changes is helping #MoveThe Date.
The last time I used the calculator my Overshoot day was 31st May not even half way through the year. I am living as though I have 2.2 Earths at my command. So now, at the beginning of June, I am already in debt to the planet – I have taken more than my share. What is your Overshoot Day?
While the Footprint accounts for my own actions as a global citizen there is also a big chunk of ‘lifestyle’ in there for my fellow UK citizens. In the UK we live in a certain way – get our resources from particularly places round the globe etc and so the footprint allocates those lifestyle trends for the UK to my footprint too. This is why all our collective small steps add up because together we influence the UK citizen data as well as the things in our personal gift. When we all shift closer to meat free meals our collective footprint reduces and we move the date. When we all reduce our daily commute or choose renewable energy to power our homes we collectively move the date for everyone. The national footprint reduces.
Keep up your good work, have a conversation with a friend and inspire them to change a habit, as communities we have a chance to make a huge difference to the impact on the planet.
Together we can #MoveTheDate.
Good luck x
WeAreTreadingSofter 
I’ve done this calculator a few times now – last year, my personal date was October 24th and this year December 9th. That said, it’s only Dec 9th because university will be taught online for the first term – as soon as it returns to in-person learning I’ll need to add bus travel back in and that’ll put the date back to somewhere between August and October again.
It’s always so interesting looking at these calculators – as a starting point. I know what I need to do to make our home more efficient (get rid of the oil central heating), but the calculator didn’t ask me about heating so even if I changed this input (which I can’t afford to do any time soon), it wouldn’t move my date.
I think the fact that you’re making a start is an absolutely amazing thing. There are two things I keep reminding myself in regards to reducing waste – one from YouTuber Shelby and one from The Zero Waste Chef.
“You can’t do all the good that the world needs, but the world needs all the good you can do.”
&
“We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.”
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Thanks for the encouragement. Those quotes are absolutely spot on! I use the calculators as a guide/ measure of where I am at and its uncomfortable seeing that I am using up way more than my share. That pushes me forward to look for the next improvement or to refocus on something I haven’t made stick yet.
I’ve just put school applications in to transfer my youngest to a closer primary. When he moves it remove the need for me to drive most days. That will be a big leap forward. Have to see if applications will be successful.
Keep up the good work.
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Ooh, fingers crossed for the applications for you! Xx
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