Earth Overshoot Day — the issue and various partial answers

Many capitalist Americans have heard of "tax-free day," the date in which the average American (these things are always done by the mean, not the median, so of limited insight) has earned enough to be free and clear of government obligations.

Far fewer have heard of Earth Overshoot Day, the day in which the planet "goes into debt" for the rest of the year of capitalist Americans and other world island citizens raping it, not just raping it "at par," but beyond what is sustainable. We hit that last month.

As the link notes, climate change is but one symptom of broader Earth Overshoot. But, it gets even less attention. Usually, far less.

Per that chart, we've been in overshoot for more than 50 years, and it has generally continued to worsen until about the time of the Great Recession.

Many organizations pushing more activism on the issue have focused on population growth. Regardless of any ethical issues on forced limits on population growth (you, China) and how that affects longer-term society to boot, such activists are all wet.

Yes, we're a bit over 8 billion, but the UN has indicated we'll probably peak somewhere between 9 and 10 billion, and won't get close to 11 billion. That means limiting population growth is not really a part of the solution, with the exception of one country, possibly two. More below. Consumption is. If you won't be honest about that as the bottom line, you're not being honest.

It should also be noted that, while things haven't gotten better, contra the natalists, they haven't gotten worse since the Western world's Great Recession, even as population has continued to rise, even soar, in places like India and sub-Saharan Africa.

The one country? India, especially as long as its Hindutva-fascist leadership sees "more people" as a key part of policy. The possible second country? Pakistan, if triggered by Indian birtherism.

On consumption and the developing world? It is the developed world's responsibility, just as it is with the Earth Overshoot subset of climate change, to help the developing world avoid our mistakes and past history — help that must be financial as well as technological, and "open" — untariffed, unburdened by intellectual property restrictions or pseudo-restrictions, etc.

Beyond that, touting antinatalism as "the" answer looks racist, even if not meant that way. And, there's a history of White environmentalism that's racist that's not just "history." It's still out there today.