Ecological overshoot is the phenomenon which occurs when the demands made on a natural ecosystem exceed its regenerative capacity. Global ecological overshoot occurs when the demands made by humanity exceed what the biosphere of Earth can provide through its capacity for renewal.[1][2] Scientific use of the term in the context of the global ecological impact of humanity is attributed to a 1980 book by William R. Catton, Jr. titled Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change.[3][4][5]