Planet So Fucked, Gotta Take Off Your Shades

Can you believe it? This is getting to be a routine occurrence – media coverage of young women reconsidering bringing children into a world already so overpopulated we’re damaging the Earth’s life-support systems we depend on. But I never tire of issuing a profound thanks and “job well done” to journalists covering this important and growing phenomenon. Today I thank Linda Yang and the editors at Broadly for:

Our Planet Is So Fucked That Some Women Are Choosing to Not Have Kids

Apologies if you’re offended by the choice of words, but I appreciate the effort to bring extra attention to this important topic. It is time we take off our shades and recognize the urgent need to get the footprint of humanity under control. Yang introduces us to Harriet Spark, and two good reasons for reproductive restraint:

“Spark’s reasoning for abstaining from having children is two-fold: She does not want to contribute to pre-existing resource depletion by adding another human to this planet, and she does not want to bring a child into a world she sees as doomed. ‘It sounds dramatic, but I’m just being realistic,’ said Spark. ‘The way we live currently simply cannot sustain more people.”

We also meet another role model, Stefanie Weiss.

“Weiss told Broadly, referencing a 2008 study from a pair of researchers at Oregon State University, ‘There’s this number, 9,441. That’s the amount of additional metric tons of carbon you add to the atmosphere for every child you have. You can never take it back. That stopped me in my tracks.”

Our hero, Travis Rieder (see NPR Illuminates Important Conversation About Kids), also gets some ink here. And he reveals this interesting fact:

“Young women are way more likely to take this seriously and to see the message as empowering,’ he continued…. Young men, he added, are far less likely to consider abstaining from having children.”

What? Shame on you, young dudes. You have some catching up to do.

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