Earth Overshoot Day 2023 is five days later than last year — progress, but not good enough

Today is 2023's Earth Overshoot Day, which is five days later than last year. As I wrote yesterday, "Good news and progress, but not enough to post Professor Farnsworth." TaiwanPlus News, an outlet I'd never heard of before today, has the story from the island nation's perspective in Earth Overshoot Day Falls on August 2 as Growth Outpaces Resources.

This year, Earth Overshoot Day falls on August 2nd. Humanity is pursuing development too quickly for Mother Nature to replenish the resources we use. Earth Overshoot Day demonstrates at what point in the year humanity has exhausted its resource budget for that year.

Reporter(s): Alex Chen/Sally Jensen

Other than cutting off the clip a second or two late, which made for a slightly uncomfortable silence at the end, (ETA: TaiwanPlus News took down that video and uploaded one that cut off on time, so I replaced the former with the latter. It's an improvement). I thought that was an informative report with a fresh viewpoint. That helps to get the point across for a day I've been observing since 2017, when it also fell on August 2nd. That's stagnation, not progress.

Euronews included some actions in the description of Earth Overshoot Day: Humanity burns through planet's yearly resources by 2 August.

The date can be pushed back by embracing changes like 15-minute cities, low-carbon energy and reforestation.

Euronews' fact checker was asleep on the job, as the U.N. estimated that the human population passed 8 billion last November. Also, the description mentions "15-minute cities," but the video itslf didn't, so I looked it up.

The idea is that everything a person needs should be within a 15-minute walk or cycle from any point in the city.

This includes work, shopping, education, healthcare, leisure and any other amenities a person may need in their regular life.

The idea has been promoted by leading academics and urban planners in recent years who promote a world where walking would once again become our most common mode of transport.

As I suspected, it means cities composed of walkable neighborhoods. The ITV article I quoted calls the concept controversial, but I have no problems with it. While I love the wildlife I share my property with, I occasionally miss my old walkable neighborhood in Royal Oak. Too bad it was cheaper to buy a house elsewhere.

I conclude with the most viewed video I found about today, Schneider Electric asking Christmas in August?

Christmas in August? That’s silly, but so is using up a year’s resources before the end of summer.

By Earth Overshoot Day on August 2nd, we’ve depleted resources that should last us until after Christmas. Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand for natural resources exceeds what our planet can regenerate in a year.

It’s time to act now. With sustainable practices, we can #MoveTheDate.

No, this isn't the way I want to celebrate Christmas early, either. How about you?