Humanity will use 1.7 Earths worth of resources this year
The globe marked “Earth Overshoot Day” on August 2nd, calculated as the day when humanity has used up more than the total amount of resources made available by the Earth over the course of the year. And the day has been getting earlier and earlier every year.
Earth Overshoot Day is a calculation which defines the total amount of ecological services available from natural processes, then compares that to how quickly humanity uses up those processes.
These services include clean air and water, forest products, fertile soil, pollination, fisheries, land use and so on.
But humanity, since the 1970s, has not been content simply to use up the services available to us, but rather to overuse them – thus creating longterm effects that result in fewer of the same resources being available in the future, compounding these problems.
This overuse can take several forms. Consider deforestation, overfished oceans, overused cropland leading to desertification, inefficient land use from suburban sprawl, and concentration of carbon and other forms of pollution in the atmosphere in excess of nature’s ability to remove them.
And as humanity has become more populous, and as people demand more resources, this only compounds the problem. We must become less wasteful and use less resources, but we’re only going in the opposite direction.
Not every country is overshooting its capacity, though. While most of us are, we in advanced countries are pulling far more than our weight in terms of overused resources. If the whole world were to use resources at the rate of the US, we would overshoot Earth’s available resources on March 13th – with Qatar and Luxembourg being the only two countries more wasteful than the world’s largest historical polluter.
You can see each country’s ecological deficit here, or can see individual country trends over time here.
The Earth Overshoot Day organization maintains a list of solutions ranked by their potential effectiveness, measured by how many days each solution could push back Earth overshoot day in the year. The top ideas aren’t particularly surprising, save perhaps one:
Putting a price on carbon pollution (which we’ve written about before) would be the biggest improvement, since carbon pollution represents humanity’s largest impact on the ecosystem resources we have available to us. Other clear solutions like a Green New Deal, smart cities, renewable energy and directing finance towards decarbonization are obvious and necessary ones that everyone knows we need to tackle.
But the #2 solution, reproductive health for women and girls, sticks out. It may sound strange as an environmental solution, but educating girls has long been known to be the most effective way to lower birth rates in the developing world, which helps reduce overpopulation.
Many of the proposed solutions, like plant-based diets and renewable energy (via home solar) can and should be implemented by individuals on a small scale, but Earth Overshoot Day points out that:
Individuals have the power to better their homes and communities. The greatest potential for large-scale impact, however, lies with governments and businesses who align their policies and strategies with the reality of our finite planet.
But those solutions still require individuals, who must support policies or representatives who will put environmental protection first, support businesses who do the same, and make sure that their own workplaces are putting effort into these solutions. We can only solve these problems with active participation by everybody, because if everyone just waits for someone else to solve the problem, then the problem doesn’t ever get solved.
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JackRabbit, the maker of pint-sized electric microbikes, is back with a new product designed to quickly recharge their batteries from pure, uncut photons mainlined into an e-bike directly from the sun. In true independent charging form, the Solar Charging Kit from JackRabbit keeps riders rolling even when there’s not a convenient AC outlet in sight.
Unveiled this week, the Solar Charging Kit consists of a single folding solar panel and a tiny voltage converter that is configured to output 42.0V, which is the exact voltage required by JackRabbit’s little e-bike batteries. There’s also an added USB-A and a USB-C charging port for powering other devices in addition to charging JackRabbit batteries.
“This Solar Charging Kit plugs directly into your bike,” explained the company, “letting you recharge without needing an outlet, but with a speed comparable to the charger that comes with the OG/OG2 (42V, 2A).”
That would mean the panel outputs around 80W of solar power, which the company says can recharge its batteries in just three hours. That fairly quick recharging speed is helped by the fact that JackRabbit’s batteries are a mere 151 Wh, or around a third of the size of most e-bike batteries.
If that sounds small, then you’re right – it is. But JackRabbit is all about going micro, offering barely 25 lb rideables that are easy to store and bring on adventures, even when they aren’t actually being ridden.
With small batteries that fit under the 160Wh limit for many airlines in the US, the batteries can be quickly charged and taken to the widest number of locations. And for riders that want to go further than a single 10-mile (16-km) battery will allow, extra batteries are small enough to fit a pants pocket. The company also offers much larger Rangebuster batteries, though they won’t pass by TSA and make it onto an airplane in your personal item.
It sounds like the Solar Chargking Kit should be able to charge up JackRabbit’s large RangeBuster batteries, though likely in more than three hours.
The $349 Solar Charging Kit is a bit pricier than building something similar yourself, but it’s also safer and more convenient than hacking together your own battery charger since it’s designed to work with JackRabbit’s batteries right out of the box.
Technically it’s only inteded for JackRabbit’s micro e-bikes (themselves technically seated scooters, even if they look and feel more like a typical bike), but it’d probably work for just about any 36V e-bike that requires 42.0V to charge.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen solar charging kits for electric bikes, and it’s a trend that is certainly appreciated by outdoors and camping enthusiasts, festival goers, or anyone who finds themself and their bike spending extended periods in the great, sunny outdoors.
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Solar generated 11% of EU electricity in 2024, overtaking coal which fell below 10% for the first time, according to the European Electricity Review published today by think tank Ember.
EU gas generation declined for the fifth year in a row, and total fossil generation fell to a historic low.
“Fossil fuels are losing their grip on EU energy,” said Dr Chris Rosslowe, senior analyst and lead author of the report. “At the start of the European Green Deal in 2019, few thought the EU’s energy transition could be where it is today; wind and solar are pushing coal to the margins and forcing gas into structural decline.”
The European Electricity Review published today by global energy think tank Ember provides the first comprehensive overview of the EU power system in 2024. It analyzes full-year electricity generation and demand data for 2024 in all EU-27 countries to understand the region’s progress in transitioning from fossil fuels to clean electricity.
Wind and solar continue their meteoric rise in the EU
The EU power sector is undergoing a deep transformation spurred on by the European Green Deal. Solar generation (11%) overtook coal (10%) for the first time in 2024, as wind (17%) generated more electricity than gas (16%) for the second year in a row.
Strong solar growth, combined with a recovery of hydropower, pushed the share of renewables to nearly half of EU power generation (47%). Fossil fuels generated 29% of the EU’s electricity in 2024. In 2019, before the Green Deal, fossil fuels provided 39% of EU electricity, while renewables provided 34%.
Solar is growing in every EU country and more than half now have either no coal power or a share below 5% in their power mix. Coal has fallen from being the EU’s third-largest power source in 2019 to the sixth-largest in 2024, bringing the end into sight for the dirtiest fossil fuel. EU gas generation also declined for the fifth year in a row (-6%) despite a very small rebound in power demand (+1%).
The EU is reaping the benefits of reduced fossil fuel dependency
The surge in wind and solar generation has reduced the EU’s reliance on imported fossil fuels and its exposure to volatile prices since the energy crisis. Ember’s analysis found that without new wind and solar capacity added over the last five years, the EU would have imported an additional 92 billion cubic meters of fossil gas and 55 million tonnes of coal, costing €59 billion.
“While the EU’s electricity transition has moved faster than anyone expected in the last five years, further progress cannot be taken for granted,” continued Rosslowe. “Delivery needs to be accelerated particularly in the wind sector, which has faced unique challenges and a widening delivery gap. Between now and 2030, annual wind additions need to more than double compared to 2024 levels. However, the achievements of the past five years should instil confidence that, with continued drive and commitment, challenges can be overcome and a more secure energy future be achieved.”
Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe said: “This milestone is about more than just climate action; it is a cornerstone of European energy security and industrial competitiveness. Renewables are steadily pushing fossil fuels to the margins, with solar leading the way. We now need more flexibility to kick-in, making sure the energy system is adapting to new realities: more storage and more smart electrification in heating, transport and industries.”
Read more: China installed a record capacity of solar and wind in 2024 – in numbers
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