If we were on a spaceship, the end really would be near – August 22. That is Earth Overshoot Day for 2020. We all know we can’t graze 100 head of cattle for long on a one-acre patch of land. We’d have a barren wasteland and a bunch of dead cattle in no time. It’s a little more challenging for us to make this calculation about meeting the needs of 7.8 billion people on a larger patch of land – the entire planet. But the laws of physics equally apply. Analysts at Global Footprint Network do an impressive job of performing this worldwide calculation. Since 2003, they’ve been analyzing UN data and satellite imagery to estimate the planet’s capacity to meet our needs (biocapacity), and humankind’s footprint - or demand (ecological footprint) - on that capacity. Their analysis suggests we have been in overshoot since about 1970. If you have too many people, consuming resources faster than the planet can regenerate them, and generating waste faster than the planet can convert that waste, you are in overshoot. This bonus episode of GrowthBusters features the Conversation Earth special, Welcome to Overshoot: Have a Nice Day. This is a 2020 update of the special we shared a year ago. Welcome to Overshoot explores overshoot’s causes, effects, and possible solutions, as well as some of the barriers to solving the problem. It features a who’s who of environmental and economic experts: William Catton, author of Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change Brian Czech, author of Supply Shock: Economic Growth at the Crossroads and the Steady State Solution, and executive director of the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy Herman Daly, author of Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development Paul Ehrlich, Stanford Biologist, author of The Population Bomb Kerryn Higgs, author of Collision Course: Endless Growth on a Finite Planet Ian Johnson, former World Bank vice president, former secretary general of Club of Rome Bill McKibben, environmental journalist, author of Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?, co-founder of 350.org. Dennis Meadows, lead scientist, The Limits to Growth Kate Raworth, author of Doughnut Economics: 7 Ways to Think Like a 21st Century Economist William Rees, co-originator of ecological footprint analysis Bill Ryerson, President of Population Media Center and Chair of Population Institute Juliet Schor, Professor of Sociology at Boston University and author of True Wealth: How and Why Millions of Americans Are Creating a Time-Rich, Ecologically Light, Small-Scale, High-Satisfaction Economy John Seager, CEO of Population Connection Gus Speth, former chair, White House Council on Environmental Quality, Co-Chair of the Next System Project Mathis Wackernagel, founder of Global Footprint Network and co-author of Ecological Footprint: Managing Our Biocapacity Budget Rex Weyler, environmental journalist   LINKS: Earth Overshoot Day The Limits to Growth Conversation Earth podcasts Ecological Footprint: Managing Our Biocapacity Budget by Mathis Wackernagel and Bert Beyers Footprint Calculator Move the Date Solutions to accelerate the shift to one-planet living Past Earth Overshoot Days   OTHER LINKS: Join the conversation on Facebook Make a donation to support this non-profit project. Archive of all episodes of the GrowthBusters podcast Subscribe to GrowthBusters email updates See the film – GrowthBusters: Hooked on Growth Explore the issues at www.growthbusters.org View the GrowthBusters channel on YouTube Subscribe (free) so you don't miss an episode:

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