World goes into 'ecological debt'

The world has gone into 'ecological debt' having used up more resources and produced more waste already this year than the planet can cope with, the New Economics Foundation warned.

By Louise Gray, Environment CorrespondentPublished: 12:01AM BST 25 Sep 2009
The global recession meant "ecological debt day" on September 25 fell a day later than the previous year for the first time in 20 years as less resources were used.
However environmental groups said the slow down was not enough to make a difference to the environmental damage being caused by over consumption, the burning of fossil fuels and intensive farming.

Think tank the New Economics Foundation measures how much land, forests and seas are used up to produce our food, energy, clothes and other goods per head. When this reaches a point when each individual is using more than the world could possibly replace through planting new forests, recovering fish or food stocks or absorbing carbon dioxide the world goes into "ecological debt".
In 1995, ecological debt day fell on November 25 but this year it was two months earlier on September 25.
Andrew Simms, NEF policy director and co-author of the report, said it was a day later than last year but still too early in the year.
"Debt-fuelled overconsumption not only brought the financial system to the edge of collapse, it is pushing many of our natural life-support systems towards a precipic," he said.
"Politicians tell us to get back to business as usual, but if we bankrupt critical ecosystems no amount of government spending will bring them back.
"We need a radically different approach to 'rich world' consumption. While billions in poorer countries subsist, we consume vastly more and yet with little or nothing to show for it in terms of greater life satisfaction."