The world population’s growth, which leads to overconsumption, pollution, and deforestation, is depleting the planet’s natural resources. Unless we make a change, we’ll run into serious problems like water and oil shortage, affecting both developed and developing countries. When it comes to achieving a more sustainable world, natural resource depletion is a big issue.
What Causes Natural Resource Depletion?
Some people think that the Earth provides us with unlimited natural resources. Unfortunately, they couldn’t be more wrong.
Most natural resources are finite, and even the ones that are renewable can’t meet the ever-growing human demand. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, the demand for water is expected to rise by 50% over the next 30 years even though many African countries are already suffering from water shortages.
Urbanization and overdevelopment also play a role in depleting natural resources. As cities grow and expand, fields are sacrificed to leave space for buildings, reducing green areas and destroying the habitat for many species.
If the planet can meet the needs of 7 billion people, what can we do to prevent a catastrophic future?
Earth Overshoot Day
The Earth Overshoot Day was an initiative created in 2006 to raise awareness about the risks of natural resource depletion. The date falls on a different day each year, and it marks the point when humanity consumes more natural resources than our planet can renew.
In 2018, the day fell on August 1st, which means that by November we had already used the equivalent natural resources of 1.7 Earths. In 2017, the Earth Overshoot Day fell on August 2nd, which was great progress in comparison to 2016, when the date fell on August 6th.
The really cool thing about the project is that it tries to move the date to create a sustainable future. The website lists a few steps to achieve the goal and provides a footprint calculator to help people change their habits.
CREED LA fights to ensure that developers pay fair wages to all the hard-working construction professionals throughout the industry while simultaneously providing them with quality health care, continued training, and trustworthy retirement plans. To learn more about how our non-profit organization supports those building a better, greener world for us all, contact CREED LA online or at (877) 810-7473.