Large quantities of seaweed lays ashore at the 'Playa Los Machos' beach, in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, Aug. 8, 2015. Credit: Ricardo Arduengo/AP

Large quantities of seaweed lays ashore at the ‘Playa Los Machos’ beach, in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, Aug. 8, 2015.
Credit: Ricardo Arduengo/AP

Planet Earth crossed into the ecological red Friday.

Thursday marked Earth Overshoot Day – the day when the world’s population officially exhausts all the natural resources the Earth can generate in a single year, as defined by the sustainability think tank, Global Footprint Network.

What exactly does that mean for humanity, and more importantly, the environment?

Overshoot depletes the Earth of its natural capital and catalyzes a buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, environmentalists say.

That buildup drastically harms the environment through deforestation, drought, fresh-water scarcity, soil erosion, and biodiversity loss, according to GFN.

All of these degenerative conditions lead to excessive ecological spending, and Overshoot Day serves as a reminder that the global population needs […]

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