Introduction

Abstract

On August 22, 2020, it was that time again: the “Earth Overshoot Day” was proclaimed, i.e. that day in 2020 when mankind – according to the generally accepted concept of the “ecological footprint” – had used up the earth’s resources it was entitled to for the year. From that day on, the statement goes, humanity will be living ecologically “on credit,” plundering the planet in an unsustainable way. In other words, humanity would need 1.8 Earths to maintain its current level of consumption in the long term, and the trend is rising. The situation is even worse with regard to the Western way of life: The USA would need five Earths in this sense, the EU countries still three.