¿How many planets will we need to survive?

The human race has existed for 3.2 million years and it has been evolving since then
to become the specie that we know today Homo sapiens. Around all these years the
humanity could survive because it has consumed natural resources from all over the
planet, therefore, the humans have been finishing them little by little, even taking
them from the limit of their existence.

According to Global Footprint Network, which is responsible to calculate the

Ecological Footprint (it compares the resource demand of individuals, governments,
and businesses against that Earth can renew), currently, our consumption exceeds
70% that our planet can renew, so it is evident that we need more and more natural
resources but we aren’t aware of it and we are consuming them disproportionately.
People know that there’re two kind of natural resources: renewable resources and
non-renewable resources, the difference between both lies in their renewal speed,
while the first can be restored by natural processes at a higher rate than the
consumption rate by humans, the second can not be produced, cultivated,
regenerated or reused on a scale that can sustain their consumption rate.

It’s possible many people believe that all natural resources have the ability to renew
themselves once they have been used and these will be infinity, for this reason it
doesn’t mind if they are consumed and consumed without limits, but it is a serious
error, despite of some resources have the ability to regenerate, this ability is being
altered with excessive consumption, that is to say, they are not be able to renew
quickly because their renewal speed has been exceeded and they don´t have
enough time to do it.

There are many examples about the consequences of our consumer society,
nowadays, global populations of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles
decreased an average of 60% between 1970 and 2014, it´s evident many species
have become extinct, the deforestation rate is high, 15.8 million hectares of tropical
forest have disappeared in 2017, the waste generated on the planet reached 2.010
million tons in 2016, as these there are more alarming quantity, despite of this we
continue to be unconscious.

It’s clear that we have a commitment to our planet if we want to survive, we obtain
all food, water, air and soil from nature, even medical treatments come from it, so,
when these resources are limited our wellbeing and quality of life will decrease,
spread of diseases and deaths due to lack of water or air pollution are becoming
more frequent and not only that, we see of the consequences of these problems
every day, polluted cities and rivers, eroded soil, drastic changes in climate, spread
of disease vectors, poverty, among other things. All of that is generating serious
problems in our lives and our planet in general.

We are using natural resources faster than they can regenerate. If that situation
continues, the natural environment will collapse. According to The Global Footprint
Network, we are in overshoot with our planet because we have consumed all the
resources that the Earth can renew in 12 months. It is represented in a date, it’s
called the Overshoot day, for example it was on 2nd August the last year, but it was
not always like this, this day was on 24th December in 1971; on13th November in
1981; on12th October in 1991 and it was on 26th September in 2001, we can show
this day arrives earlier each time. In fact, it is estimated that if the Earth and its natural
resources were a bank account, we would be in an overdraft of 70% each year.

It’s said that we need 1.7 planets to satisfy that the population at the world demands
from the ecosystem, how many planets will we need, if we maintain the same
consumer lifestyle, where our planet is degrading more and more and the natural
resources are more difficult to regenerate. It is possible that we will need more than
1.7 planets, the problem is, that we have only one planet no more and this possibility
is illogical. However, not all of us consume in the same way, South Korea would
need 8.8 countries to complete their demands of nature, the list is continued by
Japan which should have 7.1 countries, Switzerland with 4.3 and China with 3.9
countries. In the case of Colombia, there is a small advantage, it has 26% more
productive territory than it needs to respond to the needs of its population. However,
the biological capacity of the country to produce and absorb waste is reducing
quickly. While in the 1960s it exceeded 10 hectares per person, today it is 3.6
hectares.

On the another hand, there are many evidences that carbon emissions are producing
the negative effects mentioned before, all our activities produce carbon emissions in
some way. And these are being sent to the atmosphere in such a way that the
oceans and forests aren’t be able to absorb. Deforestation is also one of the factors
with the greatest impact on the ecological overdraft. Our carbon footprint reaches
60% of humanity's demand on nature. For example, the food contributes with 26%
of the ecological footprint of the humans. If all countries cut in half its food waste and
also adapt their diet adequate in calories and protein sources, that number could
decrease to 16% and ecological overshoot be postponed 42 days.

The current situation of our planet is not the best or the most desired but we are on
time still for the change, all our actions count, we need eco-friendly food production,
we can start by trying new recipes for our diet, healthier preparations that include
more vegetables, reduce our electricity consumption or use eco-friendly energy;
eliminate the use of single-use plastics; collect rainwater, practice the rule of the
three "R's": Reduce, Reuse and Recycle; transport in a different way by bicycle or
using public transport. We can calculate our ecological footprint to realize about our
impact in the planet and change our life style. Also, we should preserve and restore
the ecosystems to plant native trees, avoid forest fires, not destroy the nature and
take part of the actions to conserve nature as policies and conservation groups.

In conclusion, the change is in our hands, so, we must reduce our consumption, be
more aware of our actions and get to survive with that remains in our planet earth.

Sofía Moreno