What does it mean? What can you do about it?
What does it mean?
Earth overshoot day is the calculated (world bio capacity divided by world’s ecological footprint) calendar date representing the point in a given year when we’ve used up all of the natural resources that the earth can replenish for that year.
This year, it falls on August 2nd, 2023.
Source: https://www.footprintnetwork.o
Not everyone is equally responsible.
Western Nations and other carbon-intensive countries use far more resources than most other nations. Canada has one of the largest per capita emissions of any country.
This year, Canada and the US’s overshoot day fell on March 13th, 2023.
Within Canada, certain corporations, industries, and a small number of elites use a far greater share of resources than the average.
How is it related to climate change?
EOD highlights the excess of carbon dioxide entering our atmosphere compared to how much it can absorb. “For the rest of the year, we are maintaining our ecological deficit by drawing down local resource stocks and accumulating carbon dioxide in the atmosphere” – Footprint Network
What can you do?
There are many different actions that must be taken to lessen our impact. What is important is that we move away from the narrative that the onus falls on the individual. We love seeing people bike to work, take shorter/colder showers, recycle and compost, and we encourage you to keep doing what you can to reduce your personal waste/footprint…
But the best thing we can all do is work together/build collective resistance to the status quo, to put pressure on corporations and government to take real climate action and to move towards circularity!
We want to see this day become a call to action to build collective resistance rather than a day that places blame on the individual. We’ve highlighted some upcoming events and campaigns that can have a greater ripple effect than individual lifestyle changes 
Let’s demand better from corporations, industry shareholders and government!
