Stop Having Babies

This article was shared on Facebook today and I thought it was worth sharing here. So at the risk of offending people (again)...

Ben and I determined well before we conceived Makai that it would be one baby for us (and we feel sufficiently guilty and hypocritical about that one contributing to the overpopulation of our earth). We had Makai for purely selfish reasons, we WANTED a baby. And we're lazy. We could have adopted but it can be difficult and expensive. I'll admit that. I'm not proud of it but there it is. There's a child out there in need of a home because I'm lazy.

I find it interesting that when people see us with Makai, without fail they ask when we're having another. Or make a comment along the lines of "he's so good, next time you won't be so lucky." I've heard this more times than I can count and our response is always the same, "There will absolutely not be a next time." People seem shocked by this. Or they don't believe us which is even more weird, they laugh as if they know more than we do and give us a "we'll see" look.

We love our Makai more than we ever thought possible. I won't say that I don't look at his sweet baby face and think that I could have 10 more. I do that. But I won't actually have 10 more or even 1 more.

In my opinion (again I'm lazy so I'm not actually going to go find the science to back this up though I'm sure it exists) we just don't have the resources to sustain the current rate of population growth. Oil, food, water - finite resources that we're already running out of.

What to do? The authors (Mary Ellen Harte and Anne Ehrlich) of the article say:

"Stop the denial. Perpetual growth is the creed of a cancer cell, not a sustainable human society.

Promote and support family planning education at the family and community levels as a cheap way to reduce poverty and severe climate change. Support organizations that are trying to get contraceptives to the 200 million women in the world who lack and want them, and help them obtain equal rights, education and job opportunities. Access to contraceptives and reproductive freedom are rights, not luxuries, that ultimately benefit all of humanity. Vote for leaders who vigorously promote those humane solutions. And demand that media start educating the public every day on the role played by the unsustainable human numbers behind environmental degradation and human calamities — and start covering the solutions. The public needs a constant message: "It's time to stop growing and become sustainable."

My opinion? Stop having babies...