Each year, the Global Footprint Network — an international think tank with more than 90 partner organizations — calculates the so-called Earth Overshoot Day. This marks the date when we have used as much from nature as our planet can renew over the whole year. Think of it as a bank account with a certain budget for the year. Starting on August 1, 2018, humanity is in the red.

Today, all of humanity consumes resources equivalent to 1.7 planet Earths. Needless to say, there are big regional differences: If all of mankind lived and did business like Germans, we would need more than 3 planets; the American way of life would require 4.9 planets.

Burning fossil fuels and wood makes up 60 percent of our ecological footprint. In absolute terms, China, the United States, the European Union and India are the world's largest CO2 emitters. Per capita consumption, however, puts those figures into perspective.

Trees provide timber, an invaluable raw material for items such as paper. But they also prevent soil erosion, help replenish the groundwater and are indispensable in climatic cycles, including as CO2 reservoirs. In Germany for example, forested area binds a mere 15 percent of the country's annual CO2 emissions. Nonetheless, 3.3 million hectares of forest are lost worldwide each year.

Humanity is growing. New crop areas are sprouting up everywhere — and at the same time, the world is losing farmland to urban development, soil erosion and soil degradation. At the moment, each EU citizen uses an average of 0.31 hectares of farmland for the food they consume. But if resources were distributed equitably worldwide, everyone would be entitled to only 0.2 hectares.

As we catch ever more fish, stocks are not able to recover adequately. By now, almost a third of the world's fish stocks are considered overfished, and far more than half exploited to their maximum. CO2 emissions are also acidifying the oceans, resulting in ever more difficult living conditions for marine creatures.

The United Nations Environment Program estimates that almost half of the world's population will suffer from water shortages by 2030. Groundwater reserves are becoming increasingly scarce, and are often contaminated. The level of pollution in from farming and household waste in rivers, lakes and other bodies of water is in some places so high that this water is not even suitable for animals.

In mathematical terms, every human would have 1.8 hectares at his or her disposal in order to satisfy basic survival needs in an ecologically sustainable fashion. But the average German, for example, consumes the equivalent of 5.1 hectares. In 2018, Germany already exhausted its bio-capacity on May 2 — and has since been living at the expense of other countries or future generations.

At least 6,000 people gathered in the heart of western German coal country Saturday to demand an end to coal use. People from around the world joined forces with a local movement that started back in 2012 with a handful of activists trying to stop the expansion of a brown coal mine and save the last 200 hectares of the millennia-old Hambach Forest. The message was clear: Coal is a global problem.

The protestors spanned many ages and walks of life. There were young activists dressed in wigs or hazmat suits, but also families and the elderly. People with reduced mobility followed the march at their own pace. A nine-year-old boy was keen to voice his view on the dirty fossil fuel, telling DW he was worried about his future but expected the authorities to do the right thing and give up coal.

Demonstrators split up, some continuing the authorized protest while others took direct action to block coal infrastructure. A hundred people tried to stop the diggers at two nearby coal mines; close to 40 people were arrested. Trying to reach the train line, another 1,000 protestors ended up on the nearby A4 highway, resulting in around 250 arrests. Both the diggers and traffic were stopped.

A third group was determined to block the railway transporting coal from the Hambach mine to the three power plants where it is destined to be burned. They had their work cut out, with police attempting to block the activists from approaching the railway. In the end they had to change their route several times, running through fields and navigating dense forest to reach their target.

On route to the rail lines, there were no major clashes with police but the atmosphere was extremely tense. Police officers on horseback followed protesters up to the edge of the forest, preventing them from changing course. Outbreaks of nerves rippled through activists and horses — without it being clear who triggered what.

Once the protesters entered the forest, the situation became more fraught. They had to walk carefully to avoid tripping over branches while dodging the police — who physically shoved them as they approached — or each other as, from time to time, the crowd suddenly surged without warning.

In the midst of the chaos, activists called for calm, shouting to one another to stick together and remain peaceful. They held on to each other so no one would fall, get lost, or get caught by the police. Others conferred over the best route to proceed toward the rail line.

Eventually, thousands of protesters arrived at the rail lines. Police officers initially tried to prevent them from climbing down on the tracks, but they were outnumbered. Activists had hung guide ropes down the slopes beforehand, but most people simply slid, ran or tumbled down the bank. Within just a few minutes, the railway was engulfed in a crowd of protestors.

After an exhausting two-hour scramble, protesters sat down for a rest. The weather was bitingly cold, but there was an air of cheer as the crowd made itself comfortable on the tracks. For now at least, the energy companies couldn't transport coal from mines to their power plants — a victory celebrated under the watchful eyes of police on the hills above.

The police warned that the direct action was illegal, and offered protesters the chance to abandon their blockade without penalties. But most stayed put overnight. Organizers said their protest blocked coal infrastructure for around 24 hours — which they judged a success. The last 50 to leave the protest had chained themselves to the tracks and had to be forcibly evicted one by one.