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Earth Overshoot Day Came Early This Year. That's a Bad Thing. (popsci.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report: Earth's resources are limited. We only have so much water and food, let alone oil and gold. But humans are using more than Earth has to offer, and have been since 1970. In 2018, it's predicted we will use the equivalent of 1.7 Earths worth of resources -- which is, oh, almost a whole Earth more than we have. And the date at which we've consumed more than one Earth in a given year is called... Earth Overshoot Day.
In the 1960s, our consumption was almost perfectly synched to the Earth's resources, with humanity consuming one year's worth of Earth's resources in one year. But by 1971, that number slid backward, and has been sliding ever since. This year, 2018, saw the earliest Earth Overshoot Day yet: one Earth's worth of resources gobbled up by Aug. 1. (Last year, it happened on Aug. 2.) This doesn't mean that we've run out of clean water or timber today, and will have to live on scraps until New Year; it's that by exceeding the Earth's resources in August, we're bankrupting our future by consuming materials that are better off preserved for days to come.
In the 1960s, our consumption was almost perfectly synched to the Earth's resources, with humanity consuming one year's worth of Earth's resources in one year. But by 1971, that number slid backward, and has been sliding ever since. This year, 2018, saw the earliest Earth Overshoot Day yet: one Earth's worth of resources gobbled up by Aug. 1. (Last year, it happened on Aug. 2.) This doesn't mean that we've run out of clean water or timber today, and will have to live on scraps until New Year; it's that by exceeding the Earth's resources in August, we're bankrupting our future by consuming materials that are better off preserved for days to come.
Note I said "as it continues", and not 'if it continues' -- because 7,000,000,000 people aren't going to do anything any different tomorrow than they're doing today, not at least until it's impossible for them to do so.
There will be an extinction-level event -- in the form of WARS. Wars have very often been waged over resources. Over time, as there are more and more humans alive at the same time (see above: "people aren't going to do anything any different tomorrow.."; they'll keep breeding), available resources dwindle, and effects from global warming puts more environmental stress on all life, countries with a standing military won't just sit still and wait to starve to death or die of dehydration, they'll attack their neighbors to secure their resources. When will this happen? Could start tomorrow, could be anytime within the next, say, 50 to 100 years. But it'll happen unless something else happens to stop it.
But Malthus!
"There's not enough resources and we're all going to die!!!eleventy!!" has been wrong for 120 years and counting. Oddly enough, it's never overpopulation in predominately White nations that people seems to fret about. Just a coincidence, I'm sure.
The only real challenge for 10B on Earth (as first-world nations) is power generation, as only solar and fusion can scale to that level, and fusion will always be "just 20 years away". Still, if there's too much NIMBYism, we can just build the solar plants in orbit (and then use their power to fry the NIMBYs with death rays).
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
You have wonderfully highlighted the difference between serious scientific measurement, where the method is provided and error in measurements is quantified, and pure blathering, which is what you are doing.
See, if you looked into this at all, which is what this wonderful technology called the internet allows with minimal effort, you'd see that there is real data backing the Earth Overshoot Day estimate. In fact, their data is covered by a creative commons license so you can go over it with a fine-toothed comb and make constructive criticisms or contribute improvements.
But you didn't do that. Instead, you just called it "Pure Propaganda" without bothering to back up your statement. Your statements, sir, are much closer to propaganda.
To be fair, the most accessible parts of their material are dumbed down for a general audience, and I don't like that a bit of digging finds Schneider Electric as a prominent sponsor of the project's data source, but the message is completely fair: Mankind is running up against resource limits.
The problem with TFA is that is conflating many unrelated issues into one made up number.
Are we cutting down too many trees? Yes. We shouldn't cut them down faster than they regrow.
Are we mining too much coal? Yes, but there is NO sustainable level, since no new coal is being made.
Are we using too much iron ore? No, not really. Dig deep enough, and there is an essentially infinite source of iron, and most other metals.
So are stories like this helpful in "raising awareness"? NO, they are not. Stupid alarmism with no specific practical steps just make people roll their eyes, and leads to empathy fatigue.
Also, I have a hard time believing that people in Luxembourg are really as horrible as they claim. I have been there, and there are plenty of thriving forests, efficient vehicles, and recycling bins by every home. If Luxembourg is the "worst of the worst", then I think there is something seriously wrong with their methodology.