Save the Planet - Don''t have kids

[luv2sparkle]

We had 5 (0MG) and we support every single one of the little polluters. One of them just may be smart enough to solve the worlds problems, the others will just cause them!

 

[trillionaire]

I agree that this is a complex issue, as BlackJade describes.

I am also amazed at how nature has it''s own checks and balances...

people can have all the kids that they want, and we can keep producing carbon... to the effect of more global warming, droughts, famines, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes... Say what you want, but the earth makes it''s own efforts to ''depopulate'', IMO. I would suspect that these events will become both more frequent and more extreme as the population continues to increase. I find that incredibly fascinating, and beautifully impersonal. Awe-inspiring.

I don''t personally plan to have kids, but I like them. Honestly, the world would be pretty awful without them. (''Children of Men'' anyone?) Children give us hope, and humanity, and if people have to be here, I think kids are important. I do, however, agree that US consumption is totally out of control... and I look forward to being a crazy hippy with homemade solar panels on my roof, raising my own veggies and chickens!

I also hate when people say, ''it''s fine to have kids, one of them will save the world!'' Sure, possible. Probable? Who knows. That''s like saying, ''I''m going to leave my gramma on the ventilator for a decade because someone might invent the fountain of youth!''. (bring on the ''Death Panels''

) It''s totally speculative, and just a justification to do what you want to do and not be accountable to the issue at hand. But for those that already have kids, kids are a moot point, just like we ourselves, whether we have kids or not, are a moot point, and carbon polluters ourselves. The other part of the issue, like BJ stated, is that there are differences in who chooses to have kids, and how many. If anyone saw the movie ''Idiocracy'', you know what I mean. People with higher education (if you value that sort of thing) have fewer kids. People with more education are probably also more likely to ''know about carbon footprints'', and people with more money are more able to pay the additional costs of diminishing their footprints.

So yeah, like I said, complex.

Interesting topic though, and I''m sure I''ve said enough crazy things to get yelled at, so

 

[purselover]

Date: 8/2/2009 11:09:09 AM
Author: Erinleigh
FF and I have no plans to have children, for multiple reasons.

I, personally, have never understood why some partners choose to have multiple children, especially when they are unable to properly care for them, and use government assistance as a means through which to provide for them. Now, ethically, I understand that some people would be furious with their government telling them they can only have a set number of children. That they feel it''s their right to have as many as they''d like. If they can truly care for these children, then to a certain extent, I suppose I agree... That being said, if you truly have a love for children, adopt. While it''s not the exact same thing, if you already have 1 or 2 biological children that you love and care for, and you have your heart set on more, why not take in a child who has already been born, and give them a chance at a better future? Just mho...

I think I get what you''re saying but at the same time, as someone who wants to adopt I''m kind of horrified that you would say it''s not the exact same thing as a "natural" child. I just don''t see a difference between adopted vs "natural" children, in the case of someone having 1 or 2 biological children and then adopting like you suggested it seems like the parents would be "settling" with that child like "oh we already had 2 real kids, I guess we should just adopt a third"

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 8/1/2009 7:33:43 PM
Author: makemepretty
This goes along with the overcrowding theory: I worry about there being enough room for everyone on Earth through the years. My big thing is cemeteries. I am against burying dead people in the ground, it takes up too much precious land. Dead people do not need ''space'', living people and animals do. I am a pro-cremation type of gal. Donate my organs to help others who need them and cremate me!

There is so much uninhabited land on the planet... and I don''t mean rainforests that are just waiting to be cut down or anything like that... I would love to see things break down to a simpler way. I really liked the very ''local'' feel of living in Ireland and you just can''t find that on a national scale in our country - you really have to go out of your way to support local farmers.

 

[joelly]

I will have only one kid. I think its cruel to have more than one because parents can favor one over the other. Thats what happen to me and I have the scar for life. So if I just have one, he or she will be the only one that I pay attn to, my only bundle of joy.

 

[kas baby]

Watch "The 11th Hour" you can get it off of amazon. It is such a powerful movie... it will take an hour and a half of your time to watch, but the feelings stay with you, it gets you thinking... http://www.amazon.com/11th-Hour-Leonardo-DiCaprio/dp/B00005JPXA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1250275290&sr=8-1


this is a book I''m planning on reading, what he had to say in the movie was incredibly interesting, to me at least... http://www.amazon.com/Last-Hours-Ancient-Sunlight-Revised/dp/1400051576/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1250275250&sr=8-1


I think what we don''t realize is that the small things we could be doing, if done by enough people, amount to big differences. perhaps we can''t all go out and by solar panels, plant forests of trees, or bike to work every day-- but there are those things we could be doing that are within our means, changing to energy saving light bulbs, turning of lights when not in use, buying more organic foods (they may seem expensive, but if you only knew what chemicals are on the other stuff! the tradeoff doesn''t seem so bad after all..) carpool to work if you can... little things...

 

[Mara]

for the sake of discussion... what about advocating that instead of people having 4-5 kids... just have 1-2??

obviously if you already have kids you already have them. and i wouldn't necessarily take my carbon footprint into account when determining to have kids at all.

but we are in the middle of having one and i do think seriously about if we'd want more. for multiple reasons, but honestly when i see this i think...well that is a reason for the 'not' column. times today are very different than 10/20/30/50 years ago in general. it's interesting though because i thought the stat had changed from 2.5 kids to each family to something like .5 in the last 10 years but this article would seem to say otherwise.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 8/14/2009 2:10:49 PM
Author: joelly
I will have only one kid. I think its cruel to have more than one because parents can favor one over the other. Thats what happen to me and I have the scar for life. So if I just have one, he or she will be the only one that I pay attn to, my only bundle of joy.

Sorry you feel scared Joelly. I kind of think regardless if you have one or if you have more, there will be "issues." As an only child there can be more pressure to be perfect because the parent(s) are counting on you to live up to their expectations & dreams of what their ideal child may be. Well, okay, I speak only from my experience as I'm an only child - I'm not saying you'll be that kind of parent.