The Cupboard's Getting Empty

Overshoot (signal), when a signal exceeds its steady state value

Overshoot (population), when a population exceeds the environment's carrying capacity

Overshoot (aviation), an aborted landing

Overshoot (microwave communication), unintended reception of microwave signals

Overshoot (migration), when migratory birds end up further than intended

Now that we know what overshoot means, we can now examine the ecological limits of planet earth.

While economies, populations and resource demands grow, the size of Earth remains the same. Since the 1970s, when global ecological overshoot became a reality, we have been drawing down the biosphere's principal rather than living off its annual interest. To support our demands on nature, we have been liquidating resource stocks and allowing carbon dioxide to accumulate in the atmosphere.

Ecological overshoot is possible only for a limited time before ecosystems begin to degrade and possibly collapse. Impacts of ecological overspending are apparent already in water shortages, desertification, soil erosion, reduced cropland productivity, overgrazing, deforestation, rapid species extinction, fisheries collapse and global climate change.

Sound familiar? Overshoot Day has been advancing approximately three days a year yet is it? When BRT posted Overshoot on Sunday, September 25, 2011, the day was September 27. It's now August 20 so the 3 days per year estimate has been past by and then some. From this perspective, it seems mankind is committing slow motion suicide by plundering the planet for profit and keeping the status quo in power at all costs, something disastrous from the get go but we already know that, right?

Check out the video below, needless to say, it makes one think about what the hell are we doing to the place "we call home."

Addendum: Check out Climate Change 2007 to learn why this data should alarm every thinking person on the planet regarding what the future portends if we do nothing about it.