THE OVERSHOOT CHALLENGE
A challenge that shows how much power you have to help create a better world.
THE STORY
WHAT IS OVERSHOOT?
“Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity's demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year. Climate change, biodiversity loss, and extreme weather events (to name a few) are all various impacts of global ecological overshoot.”
Learn more about Earth Overshoot Day →There are 4.3 billion middle class people in the world today, and it's expected to reach 5.3 billion by 2030. What we've never appreciated is the power we have to drive change from the middle up. That's what this challenge is about. Billions move out of overshoot, the system changes.
The Overshoot Challenge is not about perfection, and it is not about guilt. It is hundreds of ideas to inspire all of us to take one positive step for the planet, then the next, and the next. These decisions can trigger strong emotions, because reducing our lives to live in balance with what the Earth can provide is not an intellectual decision, it is an emotional one, so prepare for that. That is also why this is not prescriptive. Instead it is an array of ideas across 14 areas, and all it takes is one billion people, each starting with one change. Then we keep going.
Built by Andrea T Edwards, from more than a decade of climate and social research, as well as a life of travel across 50+ countries. She hasn't just read it, she's lived it!
DO THIS EVERY MONTH
YOUR OVERSHOOT
Come back to this every month. Watching your number move is the most honest feedback loop in the deck, and the quickest way to see which changes are actually working.
TODAY'S CARD
TRY ONE
TODAY.
If this card doesn't resonate, tap Shuffle until you find one that does. There's plenty to choose from.
NOT FEELING THIS ONE?
Browse all 14 categories
Changes daily · 313 cards across 14 categories
HOW IT WORKS
Pick a card, pick a category, start a conversation over dinner or in your community.
Agree next steps. Some cards are simply making a decision to act differently. Some will take months and require investment. The card sets the pace.
Challenge friends and family. Challenge your wider community. The real win is shifting the system, not just your habits. That's why we're powering system change from the middle up.
THE REAL GAME
Half these cards are about pulling other people in: pension funds, councils, employers, your MP. Switching to oat milk matters. Moving billions out of fossil fuels matters more.
BP invented your "carbon footprint" so the conversation would stop here. Don't let it.
YOUR SETTINGS
NO GUILT. NO PERFECTION. JUST ACTION.