What is this event?

Every year the whole world community celebrates Day of environmental debt. The purpose of the holiday is to draw the attention of humanity to the fact that the resources of our planet are not eternal, and each person is a kind of debtor. It should be noted that the day of celebration is not fixed. The date depends on when people will completely exhaust the amount of resources that the Earth can restore in a year. Both the population of the entire planet and individual countries constantly borrow a certain amount of resources from the Earth. And the sooner in the year the Day of Ecological Debt comes, the more resources we owe to our planet, as well as to our descendants. This day was created in order to draw the attention of the world community to the excessive consumption of the Earth’s natural resources.

How did the idea of ​​celebrating Environmental Debt Day come about?

It should be said that Day of environmental debt (Earth Overshoot Day) is not quite a holiday in the usual sense of the word. He states the sad fact that humanity uses the planet’s resources in excessive quantities.

The initiator of the implementation of this date was the Global Ecological Footprint Network – an organization that carries out scientific research activities in the field of distribution, consumption and restoration of the Earth’s resources. The Day of Ecological Debt was celebrated for the first time in 1987.

On what day is the Day of Environmental Debt celebrated?

According to the researchers of the Global Ecological Footprint Network, in 1961 the world’s population used only 30% of all annual natural resources. However, the costs grew rapidly and after 10 years the environmental debt was recorded, that is, in 1971, humanity used more resources than the Earth can restore in a year.

There are a number of countries, such as Pakistan, India, some African states, which use less resources than they consume. However, if we consider the whole Earth, due to the overpopulation of the planet and the lack of resources, the day of ecological debt is coming earlier every year.

There is a special eco-debt calendar that shows how quickly each country uses the natural resources borrowed from the Earth. Therefore, the National Environmental Debt Day falls on different dates for each country. In 2022, the world community will celebrate this day on July 28.

Countries that owe the most to nature

The fastest Day of environmental debt celebrated in 2017 by the residents of Luxembourg, namely on February 17, and these are rather alarming notes. Next in the list of the largest debtors is Qatar, where the Ecodebt Day fell on February 19 of the same year. In 2017, Australians were very active consumers of natural resources, because Australia’s Earth Debt Day then fell on March 12. However, such excessive use of natural resources in these countries is easily explained by the fact that a large population lives in a territory that cannot boast of generous resources.

One cannot but worry about the situation with the environmental debt that is accumulating in our state. Despite the average population density and great natural diversity, Ukraine exhausted its reserves in 2017 already by July 12. In 2021, Ecodebt Day falls on July 24.

It is worth remembering every day that each of us bears a certain responsibility for the preservation of natural resources both to our heirs and to the entire planet. Scientists claim that if humanity’s ecological debt to the Earth will increase at the same rate, then in 10 years we will need two such planets to lead a normal life.

How to celebrate Environmental Debt Day?

If this date falls before the end of the year, it means that the Earth does not have time to restore its reserves, and humanity practically lives in debt. This state of affairs helps to realize how important a personal attitude is to the preservation of the planet’s natural resources. The Global Ecological Footprint Network has created a site where everyone can calculate their level of consumption of natural gifts. Therefore, if you do not know how to properly celebrate this day, be sure to take this test.

The test includes questions about where you live, how much space you occupy, what food you eat, how many kilometers you travel a week by car or public transport, what energy you use, etc. Many people who passed this survey claim that they were, to put it mildly, shocked by its results. For example, if all people will live in their own houses (even small ones), walk 100 km once a week, use energy from non-renewable sources, then we will need three and a half planets like Earth to meet our needs.

Actions are held on the Day of Ecological Debt: contests, concerts, conferences, competitions, which aim to draw the attention of every inhabitant of our planet to environmental problems related to the excessive use of non-renewable resources and energy sources. After all, each of us should think about what he will leave as a legacy to his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. And we can still make a difference if we stop being just consumers.

When will we celebrate the Day of Environmental Debt?

• Date Day of ecological debt changes every year and depends solely on how many natural resources are used by the inhabitants of our planet in one or another year. Currently, the Global Ecological Footprint Network estimates that this date will be July 29 in 2021. And from July 29 to January 1, the population of our planet will live in debt.