PETA was in Seattle this month, asking parents to consider not taking their children fishing. They cited abuse of fish as one reason but also spoke out on the depleting ocean populations. I personally have fears about the future of our earth and how humans will survive, and it's surprising to me that we don't all want to take bold action to protect our resources. Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to talk to a mom about this, and she admitted that it's all she can do to just get through the day-decades down the road and whether or not their children and grandchildren will have fish to eat and water to drink is not on her mind.
But what about people who don't yet have children? Is concern about the environment a justifiable reason to remain childfree?
The United Nations projects that the world population will peak at 9.22 billion in 2075. This is an astounding number, especially compared with the 1960 world population of 3 billion and today at 7 billion. It's no wonder that we're running out of clean water and air, that countless humans die in natural disasters, and that the number of fish in the seas is dropping dramatically. Some developing nations, including India and China, are purchasing land overseas to grow crops to feed their burgeoning populations and owning water rights in foreign countries is also a new trend.
Does it Make Sense to Continue to Encourage and Even To Reward Parenting?
In a world with quickly depleting resources, why are we continuing to reward pregnancy? The answer is financial, of course, because we've created a system in much of the world in which current generations are dependent on younger generations for financial support in older years. Our own Social Security is such a system, and there will indeed be a problem if having fewer kids results in fewer people working and paying into that system. I propose that we rethink how it's all done, rather than doing what some countries, including Japan, are doing and financially incentivizing young couples to reproduce. It seems unconscionable in a time of overpopulation to pay people to get pregnant. In fact, we should be doing the exact opposite, and providing financial incentives to young people who delay pregnancy until they are ready to take on the task of parenting fully, and without government support. It's quite likely, however, that as long as economists tell us that population growth is the key to economic growth and recovery, we'll continue to reward reproduction.
What Should Young People Do?
If you're considering becoming a parent, first take some time to consider the environmental impact that a child will have, especially if this child becomes a parent as well at some point. And speak out boldly to request that our leaders consider alternative methods of funding social security and other entitlement programs. Ask for tax breaks for not producing and question the trend of giving breaks to parents, who utilize the bulk of services. If you want to have a child, do so because this life goal is a passion that you believe will be worth the necessary sacrifices. Support organizations that work to protect the environment, whether this be the fragile seas, the rainforests, or wildlife. Let's all work together to save our world for those future generations.
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