Yesterday, on August 20, human consumption of natural resources globally outstripped the amount generated by the earth annually, meaning that for the rest of the calendar year we are living on "borrowed money." Put differently, this means that the global community is using natural capital at a rate over 30 percent higher than the rate it which it is being renewed. Our present way of life is simply unsustainable.
There is obviously a great deal of simplification of complex issues involved in developing a common measure for vastly different kinds of resources (renewable, non-renewable, contamination, etc.), but those interested in the methodology behind this calculation can find more information here.
Apart from questions about whether such a way of life is in our own best interest, we might ask whether it is fair to place the burden of our own debt on future generations, who will suffer the consequences of our actions more profoundly than we will. The issue becomes even more complicated when we consider the vastly different rates of resource consumption that exist between countries. For a global comparison of "footprints" by country, see here.
Comments are welcome.
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