Humans are using 73% more natural resources than the Earth produces in a year

Humans are using 73% more natural resources than the Earth produces in a year- with wealthy nations living out of their means fueling the problem.

By STACY LIBERATORE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 00:06, 28 April 2021 | UPDATED: 00:28, 28 April 2021

• Humans are consuming more natural resources than the Earth produces in a year
• A study shows humanity consumed 73% more than what was available in 2017
• Researchers found the surge stems from wealthier nations of the world
• Only 14% of the population live in such countries, but they consume 52% of Earth’s biocapacity – the ability of the ecosystem to generate natural resources
• They are consuming resources from poorer nations, leaving them in a deficit
• This group spent 96% of Earth’s biocapacity, yet have only a 34% biocapacity 

Humans are using nearly 73 percent more natural resources than the Earth produces in a year, a study has found.

A new report looks at the deficit in the world’s ‘biocapacity’ – the ability of the ecosystem to generate natural resources – compared to human demand.

If humanity continues to use use more resources than the world’s biocapacity, natural levels of resources will go down and eventually be used up.

Researchers from the US and Sir Lanka found that wealthy countries are fueling the problem by living out of their means – gobbling up resources and condemning the poorer majority of people to ‘ecological poverty’.

For a country to maintain its population, it needs to either have enough resources to match people’s ecological footprint or the funds to buy from other nations.

Researchers determined that in 1980, the world was using 119 percent its annual biocapacity.

But by 2017, the amount had increased by 54 percent – pushing the total to 173 percent.

The increase, according to the study, stems from wealthier nations with higher standards of living requiring more resources to sustain such lifestyles.

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