Living Beyond Earth’s Budget & Happiness
Earth Overshoot Day
Thanksgiving is a recognizable holiday to most Americans but can anyone remember the event that fell on September 25th of this year?
September 25th was Earth Overshoot Day and marked the day when humanity begins living beyond its ecological means.
According to the Global Footprint Network, collectively at the present time, humanity is using 1.4 planets worth of resources. Many people in western countries like the US are using four to five planets worth of resources. Since we only have one planet, I want to pause here for a moment because living beyond our means in this context doesn’t mean just paying some interest on a credit card. It is, quite literally, taking more than our fair share. In order to be sustainable, civilization must meet current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
We’re Drowning in Stuff
But even today, we have over a billion people on the planet whose basic needs are not being met. While those people need to consume more, others are literally drowning in ‘stuff’. Annie Leonard used the term “stuff-saturated” to describe this phenomenon in her presentation to the Bioneers Conference this year.
The Environmental Protection Agency reports the United States produces approximately 220 million tons of garbage each year. That’s an average of five pounds of garbage for every man woman and child in the USA. But, guess what? Studies show Floridians generate almost double the national average of garbage – creating nine pounds of municipal solid waste each day.
What you throw out is only part of the story. In order to get one can of garbage, approximately 70 garbage cans of waste were created upstream in manufacturing the products we throw away. Looking at this system, it becomes painfully obvious that we are trashing the planet.
So, does all this stuff make us happy?
The studies show a resounding NO!
The Happy Planet Index measures happiness over resource consumption or the efficiency that a country converts natural resources into human well-being. In 2009, out of 143 countries, the US ranked 114th, ahead of just a few African nations. The happiest country on the planet this year was Costa Rica, a country that notably has no standing army.
Another Happiness Index was just published this month by Mainstreet.com. It found Florida ranked dead last in happiness of Americans by state. Is it a coincidence that Florida showed up as both the top producer of waste and the bottom of the Happiness Index?
Next time we will explore some alternatives to going crazy at the mall this holiday season as I pack for my holiday in Costa Rica.
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