Climate Senior

Why Norway cares much less about the current crazy gas prices! Oh, and to the trolls out there, Norway has a winter with snow and bitter cold and stuff like that...look it up...
Via: Jan Rosenow
https://r.pebmac.ca/https://janrosenow.substack.com/p/norway-the-worlds-most-instructive?r=3gl5m8&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true

More and more, climate change is taking a toll not only on communities, the environment, and the economy, but also on human minds.

Climate Anxiety Is Taking Its Toll on Young People A blameless generation is paying a growing emotional price.

If the world consumed resources at the same rate as the United States, global ecological demand would exceed Earth’s regenerative capacity by roughly a factor of 5.1, meaning humanity would require more than five planets to sustain that level of consumption.

This estimate comes from ecological footprint analyses, which compare how much land, water, and biological capacity a population uses versus how much Earth can naturally replenish in a year. The calculation includes energy use, food production, transportation, housing, and material consumption, all converted into a single measure of “Earth equivalents.”

In the United States, high per capita energy consumption, heavy reliance on fossil fuels, and resource intensive infrastructure contribute significantly to this footprint. Average annual energy use per person is several times higher than the global average, and consumption patterns include higher meat intake, larger living spaces, and extensive transport networks.

A key insight from sustainability research is that overshoot is not only about population but also about consumption intensity. Smaller populations with very high resource use can have a larger environmental impact than larger populations with lower consumption levels, showing that lifestyle patterns matter as much as demographics.

In the broader picture, the “5.1 Earths” figure is not a prediction but a warning metric, highlighting the gap between human demand and planetary limits. It reflects a system already operating beyond long term balance, where forests, oceans, and soils absorb pressure that cannot be sustained indefinitely, leaving a quiet reminder that Earth is a closed system with finite capacity.