EARTH'S resources are officially on borrowed time for 2019.
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Earth Overshoot Day predicts the day of the year when humans have used more natural resources than our planet can renew in a year.
It fell on July 29 this year, prompting a warning from Bathurst's Rahamim Ecology Centre manager Sister Patricia Powell that we are living in a critical point in time.
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The overshoot on July 29 was marked with a ringing of the Rahamim bells for 11 minutes, signifying the 11 years left until 2030 when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts irreversible and catastrophic climate change will have occurred unless the trend is reversed.
"We are seeing things we have never seen before, some of the temperatures that are being recorded are breaking records," Sr Patricia said.
"We really are in a climate crisis and we can't afford to just wait and see. Waiting could put us in a situation from which we won't recover."
We really are in a climate crisis and we can't afford to just wait and see.
- Sister Patricia Powell
Rahamim sees Earth Overshoot Day as a vital opportunity to discuss the climate factors affecting the region.
The improvement of climate science and the understanding of climate factors by the general public could lead to a better outlook for Australia's environment, even in a time of drought.
"I want to see us look at the possible ways to mitigate the serious drought we are looking at through observing climate factors," Sister Patricia said.
"We need to listen to the suggestions that climate scientists are making to mitigate or adapt to longer periods of hot, dry conditions out here."
The Rahamim Ecology Centre provides education on ecological practices including permaculture design and biodiversity courses that have proven to regenerate the natural landscape under extreme conditions.
"We have so much information now and the challenge is to work with the natural systems of the Earth rather than trying to dominate them," Sister Patricia said.
The centre is calling on locals to get involved with more ecological practices such as implementing water saving measures and regenerative gardening practices.
Rahamim is at 34 Busby Street, South Bathurst. For more information, phone 6332 9950.