WE NEED 1.6 EARTHS THIS YEAR TO SURVIVEby | 08-08-2016 18:36 |
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  According to the international research organisation Global Footprint Network (GFN), August 8 marks the date when the world's seven billion people annual demand on nature exceeds what Earth can regenerate during the entire year. Our current rate of creating and absorbing resources suggest that we need roughly 1.6 Earth?s in order to satisfy our needs. In two decades, we will need another Earth entirely to meet our demands means two earths would be needed to sustain human activity. Humanity has been living on credit for the past 46 years, but the overshoot day is coming earlier every year. Carbon emissions are the fastest growing contributor to ecological overshoot, now making up to 60 per cent of humanity's demand on nature. According to research by the WWF the demand on the planet?s natural resources has doubled over the last 50 years, with most of the burden falling on poorer nations. If we adhere to the goals set by the Paris climate agreement adopted by nearly 200 countries in December 2015, the carbon footprint will need to gradually fall to zero by 2050. This calls for a new, eco-conscious way of living. The forests and oceans of the world absorb a lot of carbon dioxide, but we are currently emitting more than the planet can handle. The report also found the populations of animal species have dropped an average of 30% since 1970.Tropical species fell off as much as 60%, due to deforestation and urbanization. The tiger population, for example, is down 70% over the last few decades. More unfortunate species like the Baiji, a freshwater dolphin in China, have gone extinct entirely because its habitat was damanged. As temperatures rise and climate impacts become more evident, the UAE is predicted to experience hotter and more humid summers, extreme weather events such as storm surges are predicted to increase and precipitation patterns are expected to change across the Arabian Gulf as is seawater salinity. We have reached the point of consuming 1.6 planet Earths per year is really alarming and more awareness and intense actions are needed from each and every individual.
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