[cma-l] Today is Earth Overshoot Day - FAO producers/presenters

[Cathy Aitchison]

Presenter alert .......

Today is Earth Overshoot Day - 25th September
Click here for more info (Global Footprint Network):
http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/earth_overshoot_day/

Unlike governments, nature doesn't do bailouts. Yet as of today, humanity
will have placed more demand on ecological services - from filtering CO2 to
producing food, fiber and timber- than nature can provide in this year,
according to Global Footprint Network calculations. From now until the end
of the year, we will meet our demand for ecological services by depleting
resource stocks and accumulating carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

"It's a simple case of income versus expenditures," said Global Footprint
Network President Mathis Wackernagel. "For years, our demand on nature has
exceeded, by an increasingly greater margin, the budget of what nature can
produce. The urgent threats we are seeing now - most notably climate change,
but also biodiversity loss, shrinking forests, declining fisheries, soil
erosion and freshwater stress - are all clear signs: Nature is running out
of credit to extend."

See also the WWF: http://www.wwf.org.uk/
press centre and spokespeople:
http://www.wwf.org.uk/what_we_do/press_centre/press_contacts/
http://www.wwf.org.uk/what_we_do/press_centre/spokespeople/

Footprint calculators:
~ personal ecological footprint calculators eg. at
http://www.ecologicalfootprint.com (from Best Foot Forward footprint
analysts/consultants) or http://footprint.wwf.org.uk/ (WWF)

~ footprints of nations - 2008 data tables - follow link to download Excel
spreadsheet from
http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/footprint_for_nations/

~ Bioregional - One Planet Challenge
http://calculator.bioregional.com/

Best wishes
Cathy Aitchison

Today we should all be walking, re-using, mending, switching off, growing
and sharing like there's no tomorrow - otherwise one day there won't be.