Most scientific indicators suggest humanity is over Earth's carrying capacity, using resources faster than they can regenerate, with the Global Footprint Network estimating we need 1.7 Earths to sustain current consumption, though the exact number is debated due to technology, lifestyle, and resource use variations. We've been in "ecological overshoot" since the 1970s, meaning our demand exceeds the planet's biocapacity.
There are limits to the life-sustaining resources earth can provide us. In other words, there is a carrying capacity for human life on our planet. Carrying capacity is the maximum number of a species an environment can support indefinitely. Every species has a carrying capacity, even humans. However, it is very difficult for ecologists to calculate human carrying capacity. Humans are a complex species. We do not reproduce, consume resources, and interact with our living environment uniformly. Carrying capacity estimates involve making predictions about future trends in demography, resource availability, technological advances and economic development.
