Since 1972, study after study, and report after report, has warned we are in overshoot – the sum total of human activity is too much for the Earth’s ecosystems to bear. Welcome to Overshoot explores overshoot’s causes, effects, and possible solutions, as well as some of the barriers to solving the problem. The best scientific estimates tell us human civilization is in overshoot. Were you aware of this? Do you know what overshoot is? This year (2019), Earth Overshoot Day falls on July 29.

In seven months humanity has burned through the resources it takes the Earth a full year to replenish. This is overshoot, and yes, it is a very big deal. In 2019, Earth Overshoot Day falls on July 29. Find out how we know when “Earth Overshoot Day” falls, how and why we’re operating in ecological deficit, what it means for us and our children, and what – if anything – we can do about it.

What’s the soundtrack of human civilization’s time on Earth? If we were to put ten songs into a time capsule to help historians in the future piece together what the hell humankind was doing as the planet crumbled beneath our feet, the ten songs in this episode would tell half the story.

Did the heroes solve a problem or make it worse? Did super-villain Thanos in the blockbuster movie, Avengers: Infinity War, solve the overshoot problem when he killed off half the beings in the universe to end overpopulation? Should the Avengers undo his deed if they can? Dave and Erika dissect Avengers: Endgame and how it treats these sustainability issues.

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LINKS:

The Science of Avengers: Endgame Proves Thanos Did Nothing Wrong by JV Chamary

Do Only Villains Care About Overpopulation?
We dissected last year’s Avengers: Infinity War in GrowthBusters episode 15. . . .

How do we handle the despair of knowing we may not win this battle with climate change (which is really a battle with ourselves)? Should we keep fighting? And if we do, WHO needs to be making the drastic changes we know are needed to avoid the worst of climate change disaster? Is it you and me? The big corporations? Or is it our elected policymakers? Are we assuming too much personal responsibility for goosing climate change or not enough? Are we in such a dire situation that we shouldn’t even bother “greening” up our lives, because that is so far from enough?

In this episode former UK Guardian columnist and author of All You Need is Less, Madeleine Sommerville, joins host Dave Gardner to ponder these questions. . . .