On July 29, humanity consumed all the resources that the planet can regenerate in a single year, a date known as Earth Overshoot Day. In Brazil, deforestation is on the rise: 68% more forest area was lost in July this year than in the same month last year. And young environmental activist Greta Thunberg recorded a song with the British music band ‘The 1975’ calling for action against climate change.
Planet Earth is in the red. In the first seven months of 2019 humanity finished with all the resources that nature was capable of regenerating in a single year. As of July 29 we are using nature's credit card. This date is known as Earth Overshoot Day and every year it comes earlier: last year it arrived on August 1.
Each country has its own overdraft date and Qatar is the one that consumes its resources the fastest. In Latin America, the worst performer is Chile, which consumed its resources on May 19. On the other hand, the most responsible is Ecuador, which, according to calculations by the Global Footprint Network, will not reach its limit until December 14.
Humanity's overconsumption is using 1.75 Earths and this is seen in water scarcity, deforestation, CO2 accumulation in the atmosphere or loss of biodiversity. «We only have one Earth, this is the context that ultimately defines human existence. We cannot use 1.75 without destructive consequences.» So said Mathis Wackernagel, president and founder of the organization dedicated to calculating this date and assures that the trend would be reversible: «If we halved carbon dioxide emissions, we would gain 93 days. But with a growing population and increased use of fossil fuels, we don't seem to have the will to do it (...) We don't see the importance of ecological power (...) Many economic theories give a lot of importance to money but, at the end of the day, we can't eat money».
For Wackernagel, awareness of the importance of natural resources should be raised to a greater extent in South America, «where much of the land's regenerative capacity is located».
Amazon deforestation in Brazil increased by 68% in July compared to the same month in 2018.
Brazil is seeing its Amazonian canopy disappearing at ever faster rates. During July 2019, deforestation reached 1,345 km². A 68% more than what was lost in the same period last year.
According to data from the Brazilian Institute for Spatial Research, deforestation of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil has skyrocketed during the last months of Jair Bolsonaro's government. The Brazilian president questions these figures and even proposed that before being published, the reports be reviewed by the Minister of Environment. He also mentioned being in favor of opening indigenous areas to mining exploitation.
On July 25, environmental activist Greta Thunberg released a music track together with the British band ‘The 1975’, in which they call for civil disobedience to demand action against climate change.
The young Swedish girl's voice, over the British-composed melody, gives a speech in which she criticizes current political organizations for failing in the climate fight, but calls for hope for ‘homo sapiens’ to continue activism.
