Should couples for now on have only 0 or 1 child?

Question

Considering the harships we are all going through right now with Global Climate Change being a proven reality. Etc etc, should couples for now on only have 1 or 0 children in order to curtail the harm that makind is placing on the planet?

Answer 1

In 1902 our global population was 1.6 billion...today it is over 6 billion. If all these people want our consumptive western lifestyle...where does that leave us?

I have chosen not to have children precisely because I care about this planet.

We are planet earth's children (not the other way around) and She will do what she needs to survive- including getting rid of mass numbers of us if we continue to abuse her...systems theorists would say we are way out of balance

We're all in this together, it will be an interesting journey.

Answer 2

It depends upon the couple. The global climate changes may be a reality but even science doesn't know if it is a natural occurance or manmade since this planet was around for at least 65 million years BEFORE man emerged from the primordial ooze and whatever happened before humanity began keeping records is a mistery. What we are now expierencing with the environment could have very well happened before. It could simply be the natural "death and rebirth" of the earth itself.
That said...I again stiuplate that however many children a couple has is up to that couple

Answer 3

I just read an article that was saying that a recent study showed that it's becoming more and more common for families to have only 1-2 children now. There were a number of different reasons people gave for this trend.

After complications in my first (and only) pregnancy that almost killed my daughter and me, I was told that I should not attempt another pregnancy again. I always wanted at least 2-3 kids, I love children...but my husband and I obviously do NOT want another risk like that again. We've always talked about adopting though, and it's still something that we think about doing when we're ready for another child.

But even if I COULD have more kids biologically, I recently decided that I wouldn't for many reasons...and one being that there are SO many kids who need loving homes to be adopted into, and having another child of my own body seems so selfish to me now. I'm VERY happy I got to experience pregnancy and that I have my beautiful daughter, but I don't think I'm comfortable with bringing another child into this wacky world. I can always adopt a child who is already here and who needs the love that I can give them.

I don't think it'd be fair to put a limit on families as to how many children they're allowed to have by law, but I think that someday that MAY be a very common practice all around the world. Not anytime soon, I doubt, but still...someday?

Really, I think that people should just start pulling their heads out of their butts and start doing whatever they can to at least help conserve the environment...recycling, etc. And we need more hybrid vehicles or electric vehicles! None of this will REVERSE the crap that's been done to the Earth already, but at least we can hope to maybe slow down the destruction of the Earth for our future descendents...

Answer 4

We do need to change a lot as far as healing the planet is concerned. We need to make pollution reduction and recycling priorities. We need to make alternative energy a priority. We need to make waste reduction a priority. And that is just a few. There are a lot of changes that need to be made but infringing on people's right to bare children is not one of them. What kind of world would we live in if the government got to choose how many children we could have? We can do more to save the environment than to limit reproduction. Reproduction isn't the cause of this damage, it is how we take care of the Earth. So lets get to the heart of the problem instead of skirting around the issue.

Answer 5

I don't think they should have more than 2 until we know more. Honestly though, I was just listening to an argument among scientists about global warming and it sounds like they can't decide if its a proven reality or not, at least not one that hasn't happened over and over again for the last 100 years and isn't really a big problem. Don't get me wrong, I'm scared to death about global warming, but I think procration isn't the cause of it. Disposable diapers and car emiisions maybe, but not children.

Answer 6

That is too few. I would suggest putting restrictions on families that extend beyond four children, that's where it gets more problematic. It is not so much a problem in the US, where Americans usually have 2-3 children. In other places it's kind of different though...

Answer 7

It is not the number of people so much, but the lifestyle we're leading. One person in developed country consumes 300 times more energy than a person in a developing country. The earth can sustain a lot more people, if we adjust our lifestyle just a little bit.

Answer 8

i think that should be a decision that each family should make not the government. People have the right to have children, how ever many they feel is good for them. What would you want to do after a woman has one child? sterilize her? make her abort all other pregnancies? those are things that only a woman can decide... not a law, it would be a huge violation of our rights.

Answer 9

It is not just the population that puts a toll on the environment, but the way we choose to live. We think we are evolved, but clearly we are not that clever. If we all lived the simple life then the mark each of us leave on the plannet would not be so great.

Answer 10

no, we need younger people to take our place as we grow older. and who knows, your second or third child may be the one who will make a great difference in our world. she/he may be the one to discover a cure for AIDS or other cancers.
i don't think we all need to have five or six kids, but certainly if you want more than one you should go ahead.