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This year, Earth Overshoot Day is on the 28th July. This means our demand for ecological resources and services has exceeded what the Earth can regenerate in a year. As you can see on the graph below, Earth Overshoot Day is happening earlier each year. The date is calculated by looking at the world’s biocapacity and ecological footprint. Biocapacity is the amount of natural resources generated by the Earth e.g. through grazing land, forests, fishing grounds etc. Ecological footprint is our consumption of Earth’s natural resources e.g. timber, livestock, forests to absorb carbon dioxide etc. (you can read more about these calculations here).
We can also look at an individual country’s overshoot day (as shown in the diagram below). This shows the date on which Earth Overshoot Day would fall if we all consumed like the people in a given country. For example, if each nation consumed as we do in the United Kingdom, Earth Overshoot Day would occur much sooner, on the 19th May.
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What does this mean
There are many global awareness days and campaigns that we talk about: Earth Overshoot Day, World Environment Day, Plastic Free July etc. These campaigns often have the same fundamental message – we need to rapidly reduce our impact on the Earth through lowering greenhouse gas emissions, protecting nature, reducing our consumption and creating new positive habits for both people and planet.
Earlier this week, we experienced the highest temperatures recorded in the UK . Other parts of Europe also experienced extreme temperatures that impacted people’s health and triggered many wildfires. A study conducted by the Met Office in 2020 found that the UK could reach 40C every 100-300 years, however, if global warming continued at its current rate, then this could increase to 1 in every 15 years by the end of the century.
Each country is feeling the impacts of climate change and it is why these global campaigns, such as Earth Overshoot Day, are so important. Not only do we need to mitigate the impacts of climate change, but we also need to adapt to impacts we’re already experiencing.
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The top image was created in 2020 to show a possible future forecast based on current climate projections. The bottom image was the actual forecast on Tuesday 18th July 2022.
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In December 2020, the University signed up to Students Organising for Sustainability UK (SOS-UK) and Fairtrade Foundations’ Fairtrade Universities and Colleges Award. The programme aims to support organisations to embed ethical and sustainable practices through their curriculums, procurement, research, and campaigns.
Upon signing up to the programme, a group of students and staff covering Academic departments, Catering, Chaplaincy, Students’ Union and Sustainability Unit have completed a workbook of actions which have included: organising events for Fairtrade Fortnight, ensuring Fairtrade items are stocked in retail and catering outlets and sharing opportunities for students to investigate Fairtrade, trade justice or ethical consumption issues.
Following an audit in June, the University has achieved the Fairtrade Award which recognises the achievements and commitments of the programme.
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Plastic Free July is an annual campaign that aims to help people worldwide, reduce their single-use plastic waste. In 2021, 140 million people, from 190 countries, took part in the campaign. It is estimated that 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced each year. By 2050, it is expected that there could be more plastic (by weight) that fish in the sea. There are many ways that plastic can end up in the ocean: discarded fishing nets, from landfill, littering, microfibres and through drains.
Not all plastic is bad…
Plastic Free July isn’t about removing all plastic from your life. You don’t need to have tin lunchboxes, tote bags and shampoo bars to make a difference – utilise what you have!
- Plastic takeaway tubs can be reused to store leftovers or packed lunches.
- Supermarket ‘bags for life’ can be reused many times to carry shopping.
- Take your empty shampoo bottle to your nearest zero waste store to refill.
For more ideas on how to reduce waste, visit the Plastic Free July website.
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Our monthly warbles cover a variety of sustainability related topics, often fitting in with a monthly theme. We share news on global campaigns (such as this warble covering Earth Overshoot Day) and update you on events and activities at the University and in our local area. From August, we will be posting a monthly blog post on the Sustainability webpage and sharing shorter stories across Green Chester social media accounts and will also include items in the regular Shoutout. We still welcome news and stories from students and staff, if you do want to share something, get in touch by emailing greenchester@chester.ac.uk.
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What's On?
Climate Cafe ǀ Every month
Climate cafes are open to all students and staff to talk about climate issues that interest you or listen along to the discussions. To keep up to date with upcoming Climate Cafes, join our MS Teams Channel.
Allotment ǀ Weekly
Join our Allotment MS Teams Channel to keep up to date with work at the allotment and upcoming sessions.
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Best wishes,
Heather, Tammy, Phil & Sam
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Have you got any news and events you want to share in the next Warble? Just send them over to Green Chester. |
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