Humanity has been in an ecological overshoot since the 1970s, where demand for natural resources exceeded that of what the Earth can regenerate. As of 2022, if the world's entire population lived like those in the United States, we would need resources equivalent to five times what our Earth can regenerate to satisfy the global demand.
How many Earths would we need if the world's population lived like..
was calculated using the 2022 edition of the National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts, which features Ecological Footprint and biocapacity data from 1961 to the latest data-year of 2017.
Supplementary notes
The ecological footprint is "a measure of how much area of biologically productive land and water an individual, population, or activity requires to produce all the resources it consumes and to absorb the waste it generates, using prevailing technology and resource management practices. The Ecological Footprint is usually measured in global hectares. Because trade is global, an individual or country's Footprint includes land or sea from all over the world. Without further specification, Ecological Footprint generally refers to the Ecological Footprint of consumption. Ecological Footprint is often referred to in short form as Footprint."
The number of Earths is used to represent how many Earths are required to provide the resources used and to absorb waste.
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Global Footprint Network. (July 28, 2022). How many Earths would we need if the world's population lived like.. [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved July 22, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1053816/ecological-footprint-earths-global-by-country/
Global Footprint Network. "How many Earths would we need if the world's population lived like..." Chart. July 28, 2022. Statista. Accessed July 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1053816/ecological-footprint-earths-global-by-country/
Global Footprint Network. (2022). How many Earths would we need if the world's population lived like... Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: July 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1053816/ecological-footprint-earths-global-by-country/
Global Footprint Network. "How Many Earths Would We Need If The World's Population Lived Like..." Statista, Statista Inc., 28 Jul 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1053816/ecological-footprint-earths-global-by-country/
Global Footprint Network, How many Earths would we need if the world's population lived like.. Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1053816/ecological-footprint-earths-global-by-country/ (last visited July 22, 2024)
How many Earths would we need if the world's population lived like.. [Graph], Global Footprint Network, July 28, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1053816/ecological-footprint-earths-global-by-country/
