Why is the Earth in ecological overdraft?

"I am a weapon of mass consumption, it's not my fault, it's how I'm programmed to function." - Lily Allen


First of all, WHAT is ecological overdraft? Ecological overdraft is the point at which human consumption exceeds the Earth's ability to sustain it. The human race is now taking from the Earth resources the Earth cannot afford to give hence putting the world into ecological overdraft and creating a lack of sustainability. Disregarding the most obvious reason behind ecological overdraft; the fact that the human race is consuming more than they should, their demands have grown from simple necessities to complex wants, one of the fundamental reasons behind ecological overdraft is the overpopulation crisis. Even if the consumption rate of each individual stays and has stayed the same over the last 20 years, the population has risen therefore the Earth is supporting a larger amount of people consuming the same amount. In a deceptive attempt to overcome ecological overdraft, heal the damages in our environment (which in the long term affect none other but us), major developed countries such as the UK and US have begun 'carbon laundering'. Laundering in this context is illegally obtaining or export of a certain product while making the transaction seem legit. The UK and the US have begun classifying their carbon excretions under the carbon footprints of other nations, such as China, by placing their higher carbon emitting industries on Chinese soil. The industrialized nations are a) Responsible for most carbon emissions to date and b) Particularly responsible for driving the rapid growth in emissions from industrializing nations such as China. 


"Without this demand, China would not have developed so rapidly and its emissions would not have risen so sharply," the report for the widely-respected government-funded Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research by Tao Wang and Jim Watson said, suggesting that 'imported carbon' should be included in national emission calculations of the country itself (for example UK and the US) as opposed to under the national emission calculations of the victim nations (such as China that are being used as the powerhouse and factory to supply goods for the developed nations). 


According to the National Economic Forum, if the world had the same consumptions rates as in the United States, it would take 5.3 planet Earth to sustain this consumption. The figures for France, Britain, Spain, Germany and Japan are 3.1, 3.1, 3, 2.5 and 2.4 respectively. However on the other hand, if the world emulated the carbon emissions of China (one of the only major countries to have taken into account the significance of sustainability) it would take a mere 0.9 of a planet to sustain the world's consumption. "As China is increasingly attacked because of its rising population, people overlook one important issue. Per person, China's greenhouse gas emissions are a fraction of those in Europe and the United States," stated Andrew Simms, the director of the National Economic Forum.


More concealed reasons for ecological overdraft (as opposed to the usual reasons such as excessive consumption):
- Overpopulation
- Carbon laundering. Industrialized society's fast track mind with their lack of ability to think in the long term.