Here's an interest podcast that covers this topic: Should I still have kids if I’m worried about climate change?
What can an individual do to help combat climate change? Climate scientist Kimberly Nicholas co-led a study that showed the single most effective thing an individual can do to decrease their carbon footprint is have fewer kids. Despite that finding, she still says that people who really want to have kids should go ahead with their plans. She explains how she squares that circle to Vox’s Sigal Samuel, and the two discuss how to think about the decision to have kids or not and how to make meaning in a warming world. Listen to the podcast above.
I'm so glad strong, intelligent women are starting to talk about this very important subject! The more of us who talk about this, the better – we need to remove the negative reaction to people who don't want to have children. Instead of asking newly married couples WHEN they are going to have children, we should lay off and let people make their own decisions.
Just think, if we all started having less kids, we wouldn't have such a huge housing crisis that we are having now. We wouldn't have to find ever-more-harmful ways to grow food to feed the growing masses. This is a conversation we all need to have. Women should know that it is not only ok to not have children, it's actually good for the planet! The less people we have to house and feed, the better for our environment! Especially in the United States, where we have an over-consumption problem, having less children makes a huge impact.
Choosing to not have a child is one of the best decisions that my partner and I have made – we feel that it is the one, most significant thing we can do to help everyone and everything – other people, our environment, the planet. We also ride our bikes everywhere, plant trees, native plants, and grow some of our own organic food. But deciding not to have children means that we've reduced the need for more food, more housing, more cars, more water, more electricity, more landfill space, the list goes on. Recycling, driving a hybrid, or riding a bike is not enough, we need to change the culture that always strains to convince us all that children are necessary for happiness. They aren't. It's time to have the conversation.