As millions of people watch the Olympics in Rio or catch Pokémon characters on their smartphones, we interrupt this program to bring you another piece of important news:

 

Today is Earth Overshoot Day!

 

In less than eight months, humanity has used nature’s budget for the entire year. From today on, we are depleting our natural capital. How is it possible to use more from nature than nature can renew? By emitting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than our oceans and forests can absorb, depleting fisheries and harvesting forests more quickly than they can reproduce and regrow, just to mention a few examples.

 

Carbon emissions are the fastest growing contributor to ecological overshoot, with the carbon Footprint now making up 60% of humanity’s demand on nature.

 

But there is good news! The world is on the cusp of positive change. The Paris Climate Agreement and U.N Sustainable Development Goals – both adopted within the past year – can set us on a new course. If we are to adhere to the 2°C goal set by the Paris Climate Agreement adopted by nearly 200 countries last December, the carbon Footprint will need to gradually fall to zero before 2050. This calls for a new way of living on our one planet.

 

"Such a new way of living comes with many advantages. Still, making it happen takes effort," says Mathis Wackernagel, co-founder and CEO of Global Footprint Network. "Luckily it is possible with current technology, and financially advantageous with overall benefits exceeding costs. It will stimulate emerging sectors like renewable energy, while reducing risks associated with the impact of climate change, particularly the potential costs of stranded infrastructure assets. The only resource we still need more of is political will to act."

 

 

We’re inviting you to think about what this new way of living looks like to you. After all, each of us has the power to act for change in our daily lives. Our #pledgefortheplanet campaign has been issuing sustainability challenges to everyone who is curious to explore how, and who is eager to spread the word through their social media networks. We offer pledges related to diet, energy, transportation, and more. Our favorite pledge, of course, is become a natural resource expert. We even have a pledge for cities or regions that want to reduce their Ecological Footprints – with our pro bono help.

 

We are thrilled that our newest partner, Ticket to the Moon, is donating three camping hammocks to our #pledgefortheplanet photo contest. With the addition of these new prizes, we are extending our photo contest by one week. You now have until August 15 to make your pledges HERE and enter the photo contest HERE to win a GoPro HERO Session camera or a Ticket to the Moon hammock. Even if you don’t win, you can still earn a discount to buy your own hammock when you make a pledge, thanks to partners Ticket to the Moon and My Drop in the Oceans.

 

 

On the government front, we’re encouraged to see some countries embrace the challenge of decarbonizing their economy. For instance, Costa Rica generated 97 percent of its electricity from renewable sources during the first three months of 2016. Portugal, Germany and Britain also demonstrated groundbreaking levels of renewable energy capability this year, when 100% of their electricity demand was met by renewables for several minutes or, in the case of Portugal, for several days. In China, meanwhile, the government has outlined a plan to reduce its citizens’ meat consumption by 50%, which it calculates will lower the carbon dioxide equivalent emissions from China’s livestock industry by 1 billion tons by 2030.

 

"The Paris Climate Agreement is the strongest statement yet about the need to reduce our carbon Footprint drastically. Ultimately, collapse or stability is a choice," adds Wackernagel. "We forcefully recommend nations, cities and individuals take swift, bold actions to make the Paris goals an attainable reality."

 

It comes down to this: Balancing how much nature we use and how much is generated is paramount for humanity and wild species to thrive on our one planet. Each of us has the opportunity to participate. Through the choices we make every day as consumers and as citizens, we are already actively contributing to the world that we will be leaving future generations. Which begs the question: What kind of world are we choosing to create?

 

Today is the third day of the Summer Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil. What if the expected 3+ billion viewers were as committed to taking action and building political will for a low-carbon economy as they are excited about watching athletes compete? That shift is our most important task at hand. Building a sustainable world will take nothing less than transforming our individual and collective mindsets and setting our imaginations free.

 

Like the athletes in Rio, take a big leap. But instead of medals, yours will be for sustainability. Tell your friends about Earth Overshoot Day or tweet. Make a pledge or two or three. Help push Earth Overshoot Day later in the year. And create the world that future generations will be grateful for.