National Geographic Abu Dhabi has launched its much-anticipated yearly calendar for 2020, which sounds the alarm on the depletion on earth’s resources, in an effort to raise awareness and spur action towards sustainability.

According to National Geographic Society’s research[1], our current resource demands are already 1.5 times what the planet can provide. By 2050, the demands on the Earth’s renewable resources are expected to increase to almost three times what it can sustain. As a result, we are in the process of dismantling the major ecosystems that are essential to maintaining not only the world’s human cultures, but also all life on Earth.

In line with National Geographic’s long-standing mission towards conservation, the 2020 calendar focuses on the degree of the threat our planet is under, through highlighting the Earth Overshoot Day.  Marking the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year, Earth Overshoot Day is a red-light warning of how collectively we are draining Earth’s capacity to provide.

Reflecting the brand’s continued commitment to educate and promote environmental sustainability, awareness and stewardship, the National Geographic Abu Dhabi 2020 calendar is designed in the form of an hourglass, with the sand symbolizing the Earth’s resources, including air, minerals, plants, soil, water, and wildlife.

Year on year, the World Overshoot Day falls earlier in the year. In 2020, it’s expected to fall in late July, which is highlighted in the calendar.

While bringing home the alarmingly rapid speed with which humans are consuming resources, the National Geographic Abu Dhabi 2020 calendar also drives home a positive message, as flipping the hourglass symbolizes how each of us can play an active role in conserving our Earth and protecting it for future generations. In doing so, National Geographic Abu Dhabi hopes to inspire people to #MoveTheDate of Earth Overshoot Day.