Earth Overshoot Day
It's earth overshoot day in Australia. Let's talk about what that means and how living waste-free can be direct action on climate.
Hey friends,
It’s Earth Overshoot Day in Australia today. That means if everyone lived like the average Australian, there’s only enough resources on the planet to make as far as today, in 2023.
‘Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity has used all the biological resources that Earth regenerates during the entire year.’ - overshootday.org
Australia sits at 6th in the world in terms of our overshoot, or consumption of resources. We have space and comparative wealth, and our ecological footprints are large. We must hold our government accountable to lead the way forward through this final warning of the climate emergency we’re living through. But those of us who have a large ecological footprint, those of us who can make choices in our lives, have a personal responsibility to do everything that’s within our power to reduce it. That means examining how we live. Giving some things up and taking some things on. Relearning skills and letting go of old habits.
One of the most effective ways we know, when it comes to reducing your environmental footprint and shifting your earth overshoot day, is to live waste-free. We’ve experienced this personally, shifting our family’s overshoot day to July next year. That means (in simplistic terms), if everyone was able to live like we’re fortunate to, we’d have more than enough for everyone.
Living waste-free is measurable, effective, positive, and something you can do right away. It puts pressure on suppliers, corporations and governments to change systems as they vie for your dollar and your vote. It creates new patterns that help you reduce consumption and connect you with your community and ecosystems. And it can be simple, and easy and a whole lot of fun.
Here’s a video Oberon made last year addressing whether waste-free living is climate action, so if you’re interested in diving deeper, grab a cuppa and have a watch.
If you’re in northern lutruwita / Tasmania, we’ll be at Ecofest next week talking about exactly this thing, as well as giving a little demo of some of our fave recipes. We’ll have books and climate solutions tea towels on hand too. Come and have a chat!
Have a wonderful rest of your day!
Much love,
Lauren & Oberon. xx