--- title: Earth Overshoot Day 2015: How Humans Used a Year's Worth of Resources description: It may only be August, but by Wednesday humans had consumed a year's worth of natural resources in 2015. canonical: https://time.com/3997388/earth-overshoot-day-2015/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-14T15:30:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:58:09.734Z article:section: Science og:title: How Humans Used Up a Year of Natural Resources In Under 9 Months og:description: It may only be August, but by Wednesday humans had consumed a year's worth of natural resources in 2015. og:url: https://time.com/3997388/earth-overshoot-day-2015/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1a24d4270f6c8d5f/69885f518e06014178461e08/landfill-bulldozer.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3206 og:image:height: 1803 og:image:alt: landfill bulldozer og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Humans Used Up a Year of Natural Resources In Under 9 Months twitter:description: It may only be August, but by Wednesday humans had consumed a year's worth of natural resources in 2015. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1a24d4270f6c8d5f/69885f518e06014178461e08/landfill-bulldozer.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Humans Used Up a Year of Natural Resources In Under 9 Months > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Is Climate Change Causing Extreme Weather? [Watch (HLS stream): Is Climate Change Causing Extreme Weather?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/LQufbOt9.m3u8) (2:04)  _Published 2013-11-11. Is the frequency of extreme weather events a sign that global warming is gaining pace and exceeding predictions? Climate scientist Bill Patzert explains._  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Aug 14, 2015 3:30 PM UTC  Bulldozer working on landfill site,UK Bulldozer working on landfill site,UK Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Aug 14, 2015 3:30 PM UTC We’re not even nine months into 2015, but by Wednesday humans had consumed an entire year’s worth of natural resources since Jan. 1, according to the Global Footprint Network. To determine the precise day, known as Earth Overshoot Day, researchers estimate the number of biologically productive acres across the globe. This land absorbs damaging actions human take against the environment, such as the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The researchers then calculate the amount of land humans would _need_ to make up for all those damaging actions. Earth Overshoot Day is the day when human demand on Earth exceeds the planet’s ability to absorb it. This year Earth Overshoot Day occurred six days earlier than last year. The Global Footprint Network says that overall, humans would require 1.6 planet earths to support our lifestyle. “We look at all the resource demands of humanity that compete for space, like food, fiber, timber, et cetera, then we look at how much area is needed to provide those services and how much productive surface is available,” Mathis Wackernagel, president of the Global Footprint Network [told](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/08/150813-earth-overshoot-day-earlier/) _National Geographic_. Carbon emissions, a key driver of climate change, represent the largest contributor to the human ecological footprint. While global carbon emissions continue to grow, humans continue to destroy the forests and other natural resources that absorb carbon. Efforts to halt climate change have primarily focused on stemming carbon emissions, as will a landmark United Nations conference on the topic late this year. Global Footprint Network researchers incorporate many factors in their estimates, but the group acknowledges that an exact date would be difficult to calculate with precision. “Earth Overshoot Day is meant as an approximation rather than an exact date,” the group says on its [website](http://www.overshootday.org/newsroom/media-backgrounder/). “Still, the data shows that humanity’s demand on nature is at an unsustainable level — one year is no longer enough to regenerate humanity’s annual demand on the planet.” ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] Extreme weather was more frequent in recent years. Is it a sign that global warming is gaining pace and exceeding predictions? Now, has extreme weather been more frequent in recent years? The evidence is definitely to the contrary. The United States has always had extreme weather. We look back on our weather history. It's been punishing. Floods, droughts, tornadoes, hurricanes, great forest fires. Is global warming happening? No doubt about it. We're living in a warmer world. We're living in a melting world, sea levels are rising. Now, direct evidence of the foot print or the finger print of global warming, we're seeing more frequent, more intense and longer lasting heat waves. As far as hurricanes, tornadoes, forest fires, floods and drought; the evidence is definitely not in. The consensus among almost all scientists is, is that it's a small finger print, not a large foot print. But what is true is that in this country, in the United States, we live in many areas with great risk to drought, [ NOISE ] to tornadoes, to hurricanes. And so part of the dialog is not only extreme weather and global warming but is the amount of risk we can tolerate. Now, looking to the future, global change, global warming it definitely is accelerating and it will have an impact on extreme weather. But at this point, not much. 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