Happy Earth Overshoot Day!
Except burning through Earth's resources-- literally-- isn't all that 'happy'
A quick note: My 31st birthday was this week. To celebrate, for the next two weeks (until August 15th!) I’ve lowered the cost of annual subscriptions by 31%, to $34.50. If my work adds value to your life, I’d love it if you would consider a paid subscription. I believe that these conversations about sustainability, low-waste, and intentional living are important— so I don’t want to shield them behind a paywall. Your support, if you can afford a paid subscription, allows me to continue making this work (and yes, writing, even when you love it, is work) accessible to everyone. Thank you, as always, for being here. ❤️
In addition to my birthday, this week had a number of other important events: The end of #PlasticFreeJuly, the first time my 4 year old was diagnosed with pneumonia (could have done without that one…), and today, Earth Overshoot Day.
Earth Overshoot Day signifies the day that we, collectively as humans, have used more resources than the planet can generate in a given year. If you’re a climate writer like myself, it’s a day you’ve been planning to click “Publish” on since, oh, I don’t know, January.
Of course, where you live has a significant impact on your lifestyle. As a result, if the entire world lived like the average person in Qatar, Earth Overshoot Day would fall on February 11th. Living like the average American puts you at March 14th, with Canada (March 15th) and Denmark (March 16th) right behind. UK makes it just over half the year, to June 3rd, but to make it nearly the entire year, you would have to live like the average person in Ecuador or Indonesia (November 24th). This resource distribution is incredibly uneven, with certain ‘developed’ countries using far more of Earth’s resources than necessary, and other countries experiencing an extreme resource lack that results in malnutrition, lack of access to clean water, and other maladies. We all roll the dice at birth to determine the resource access we are born into— this is, perhaps, the strongest argument for a phrase I often think about: If you are more fortunate than others, build a longer table, not a taller fence.
All the ways we use the Earth’s resources are incredibly complicated. Fossil fuels from airline flights, carbon emissions from global shipping networks, meat consumption, and the size and energy efficiency of your home all matter. So, too, do things like your daily commute, plastic packaging on your food products, and your purchasing habits.
Utils of Happiness
And, of course, its important to note that more resource access does not necessarily translate to additional happiness. Economists measure happiness in “utils”— a term that describes the “utility” or benefit of a particular good or service. My first cup of coffee is a significant happiness boost; economists would tell me I’m getting plenty of “utils” from the experience of that first sip. But then, the law of diminishing returns kicks in: The second cup of coffee doesn’t taste quite as good as the first, and if I were to enjoy 7 or 8 cups of coffee, well, I’d be a jittery mess. Every cup of coffee after the first gives just a little bit less enjoyment or “utils” of happiness and function.
The same is true of more precious resources: The access to clean running water for drinking is immensely important. It provides an additional boost to quality of life to be able to take a shower or wash your hands indoors, but it’s probably not crucial to your life satisfaction to have enough running water to detail your car every weekend. But for those of us who live in "over-resourced” communities, we’ve become accustomed to excessive convenience, often to the detriment of things like community connections that would actually bring more happiness and life satisfaction.
But, of course, it’s difficult to make the argument that we should voluntarily reduce our access to things like fossil fuels— until, of course, extreme heat waves, wildfires, and hurricanes start making these shifts somewhat less than voluntary. Whatever shifts we don’t make ourselves will eventually be made for us. And while some individuals and governments may be turning a blind eye, businesses are starting to take note of the impact of resource over-use. One of the most significant examples of this in the United States is the dramatic increase in costs— and limited availability— as insurance companies pull out of high-risk markets like California and Florida due to rising costs from extreme weather events.
So what’s the solution?
Big policy decisions matter, a lot: Walkable urban areas with good public transit systems reduces the need for personal vehicles. A high-speed rail system is a great alternative to plane trips. Good luck trying to fully electrify your house without some serious financial subsidies (you know, a measly fraction of the kind that big oil gets from our taxpayer dollars). You know the drill. This, of course, is why voting and political involvement, especially at the state level, matters. If you are curious what kinds of solutions might make a difference, Project Drawdown is a great resource.
You can also move the needle on these issues in your own institutions. If you are an employee, a parent of a school student, or otherwise involved somehow in an organization, you can encourage them to make shifts as simple as choosing renewable energy (you can do this for your own home with just a few clicks of a button— I recall my shift taking maybe 5 minutes to choose an alternative provider) to implementing composting systems or reducing plastic waste. Institutions can be obnoxiously resistant to change, but certainly less so than governments— and, crucially, they are deeply receptive to 'stakeholder’ feedback (that’s why the idea of “voting with your dollars” is so important).
On a personal level, the goal isn’t to completely upend your lifestyle overnight. Small shifts— from Meatless Mondays to shopping intentionally (including supporting businesses that measure their climate impact) and composting (I recommend the Lomi if you’re a low-effort person) are great places to start. Individually, we may not be able to solve all the world’s problems, but we can certainly be part of the solution. And that’s why I show up here: Because one day, I need the children in my life— and the children in yours— to know that we did not stay silent when wildfires, pollution, and rising sea levels threatened their future.
Thank you for your helpful tips and reminders!