Warning because humans are consuming more natural resources than the planet can handle

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A new study concluded that people around the world consume much more natural resources than the ability of the planet to bear, which condemns the majority of people to environmental poverty, according to the ScienceAlert scientific site.

Researchers tried to determine the deficit in natural resources for the year 2017 and found that the world population of more than 7.5 billion people, had consumed 173 percent of the total biocapacity in the world in that year.

Obviously, there has been a huge increase in the percentage of consumption, and in 1980 humankind was consuming only 119% of the world's biocapacity.

The study showed that most of the increase in consumption since then has been from wealthier countries, which enjoy higher standards of living.

If the world is really serious about eradicating poverty, then experts say that it is not possible to continue to ignore the factor of land resources, according to the study.

By dividing the countries of the world into four categories, based on per capita GDP and the local environmental deficit, researchers found that there is an unsustainable shift in humankind's consumption of resources.

The study warned that by not seeking to improve the security of natural resources, reduce the use of fossil fuels, promote sustainable development, and change consumption patterns, natural capital will not be able to recover, and hope for a more equal future will diminish.

The study indicates that high-income countries that suffer from a deficit of resources, constitute only 14 percent of the world's population, but they consume 52 percent of the biocapacity of the planet.

To live in a truly sustainable way, scientists believe that we should not consume more than half of our planet's resources, but if every person in the world lived like those in high-income and low-resource countries, like Switzerland, we would need approximately 3.67 planets to meet global demand.

The researchers assert that continuing in the status quo will make the current resource crisis worse, and it is clear that we are consuming more than our planet can bear, and rapid and effective changes must be made to solve the problem.