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York U experts are available to discuss “Earth Overshoot Day”, Aug. 1
By Staff
July 30, 2018
3:36 pm
TORONTO, Monday, July 30, 2019 – This year’s Earth Overshoot Day is Aug. 1, calculated as the day when humanity will begin to consume more of nature’s products and services than can be sustainably regenerated in a year. That means people are consuming resources 1.7 times faster than nature can renew itself, said York University Faculty of Environmental Studies Interim Dean Ravi de Costa.
Global Footprint Network, which partnered with York University earlier in the year, has calculated Earth Overshoot Day since the early 1970s. The calculation uses international statistics about humanity’s use of nature for food, fibre, forest products, land for infrastructure, and emissions of greenhouse gases – and compares this with the amount of land available to sustain this use. Details are available at www.overshootday.org.
York University experts are available to talk about sustainability and what Earth Overshoot Day means, the cost to the environment and how this day has changed since the 1970s.
Eric Miller teaches ecological economics in the Faculty and can speak about the detailed calculations and what the results mean for Ontario and Canada. He is a member of Ontario’s Biodiversity Council and is the former top economist at the Ministry of Natural Resources.
Ravi de Costa is the Interim Dean of the Faculty and can speak about the partnership with Global Footprint Network and the academic and research opportunities it presents.
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Media Contact:
Sandra McLean, York University Media Relations, 416-736-2100 ext. 22097, sandramc@yorku.ca
