Overthink, overshoot, over-the-top – a thoughtful resource repository

We live in the world where there’s a 10 minute delivery, advertisements can be skipped, milk from your grocery store next door can be ordered via a mobile application, a new destination can be visited through a last-minute plan and a last-minute flight, life partners can be found through websites and - we truly live in a strange world.

We live in a strange and unfair world - where the value of human life is fragile and uncertain. Most times it is due to other people, based on multiple barriers and boundaries; but sometimes it is also when nature turns ruthless, especially when we have had too much of it, without any consent. The world saw its deadliest most powerful earthquake to date, hitting an 8.8 on the richter scale in Russia this week, sending waves and major tsunami warnings to geographic extremes like Japan, Hawaii and the United States of America. I keep learning from my dear friend Mahima Mall and her mom, an ace Geography teacher Sheba Mall, how ‘natural disasters’ are not disasters but just phenomenons of nature. And the only reason, or an accumulation of multiple reasons could be (read : are), our overconsumption - over consumption of these resources by and through human activities.

Of course I know that earthquakes are caused by movements of the tectonic plates which might not have anything to do with how we live, but if we recall the cracking of houses in Joshimath in Uttaranchal in 2022, a lot of it was due to urban architecture built on land which was not meant for it, expanding tourism without any quality or backing - something so unusual was happening because of something so usual. Of course there is a lot of disparity in the world, nations in conflict, poverty, endangered regions and species, there is a reminder for all this every single day - but also a population explosion, technology, changing lifestyles from A to Z, everything has contributed to this resource consumption. And these are not essentially energy resources, but everything that the earth provides us with and everything (and beyond) that we extract from it.

This is exactly what an earth overshoot is, Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year. This ecological deficit spending is possible because we can liquidate stocks of ecological resources and accumulate waste, most prominently carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. As overspending can not last, overshoot will end. The question is only how: by design or disaster. This day is indeed scientifically calculated by comparing the planet’s biocapacity, that is, the amount of biologically productive land and sea available to regenerate resources and absorb waste, with the global ecological footprint, which measures human consumption of resources such as food, timber, and energy, as well as the carbon sink needed to absorb emissions. For instance, if humanity consumes 1.75 Earths per year, Earth Overshoot Day would fall around the 208th day of the year—roughly late July—after which we are operating in ecological deficit by depleting natural capital. The calculation is based on UN and FAO statistics, satellite data, and scientific models, though it doesn’t account for all environmental impacts such as biodiversity loss or pollution.

Without going into the scientific aspects of this, even the thought that humanity as a whole has consumed more than one earth - literally when we have a single planet to thrive on, seems so bizarre to me. But it is the truth while this can go into multiple conversations and directions, and as the world shifts its focus on sustainability, circularity, ESG, and a sustainable working world - and as someone who works in the same sector, I also feel that we do not think about fundamental natural resources as much as we should. I do not think about endangered corals that are being exploited in the city I stay in, or extremely rare species, essentially being killed in Lakshadweep because of a port being constructed. I do not think about Norway legalising deep sea mining, in an era where it is bad for everyone, including the State. And I certainly try not to think about the world’s first democracy declaring that climate change is irrelevant.

Ask someone who does not use the word corporate sustainability lightly, and firmly and adamantly believes in the world of a circular economy, net zero targets, diversity and inclusion, community initiatives and stringent corporate governance, I also feel that we have drifted away from very very basic terms. Nor do we have or encourage, and I mean this globally, a solution-oriented career in areas of oceans, zoology, fisheries, biodiversity - and basically everything that supports our life every single second. And trust me on this, because I am a geo-informatics engineer who tried getting into oceanography and the only region for research was Antarctica. Of course Antarctica should be the hub of polar and ocean research, but are these fundamental or the components a part of our daily life, our literal support system - as further as we go from nature, the more we seek to be with nature.

I realise that this article seems extremely passionate, and the reason is, as quoted by one of my all-time favourite characters Leslie Knope from Parks and Recreations - if I come off as too strong, it is because I care. And I really do.

About the earth overshoot - Do I talk about it? Yes. Do I contribute to it? Yes. Do I do anything to reverse my actions? Sometimes, yes - other times like most of us, I feel helpless too. But this is my commitment to do better - do not only preach but practice, to commit as well as contribute, to learn something new at least every week, to focus on these earthy components inside me.

As much as we talk about plantation drives as CSR activities - if done right it can regenerate a whole forest - and as much as we judge the concept of thrifting, even that can give fast fashion probably a better name. The idea always is that if humans could cause a problem, they can also very well by the solutions - at least enablers. So as we pass a very crucial earth overshoot day again, here’s to comment, here’s to observe, here’s to be present and be one with nature, as and when we can.

This article is also published on the author's blog. illuminem Voices is a democratic space presenting the thoughts and opinions of leading Sustainability & Energy writers, their opinions do not necessarily represent those of illuminem.

See how the companies in your sector perform on sustainability. On illuminem’s Data Hub™, access emissions data, ESG performance, and climate commitments for thousands of industrial players across the globe.