A child-free lifestyle will not sound appealing to some people but it has its potential to help the existing climate change issues. One of the reasons why greenhouse gasses multiply in volume is when a new individual is born. An individual leaves his own carbon footprints. Every new individual that is born means additional carbon dioxide in the air. During his growth, the numerous materials he uses in his daily life adds up in the greenhouse gasses. The idea of carbon footprints originated from the ecological footprint concept.
Women Who Believe That Child-free Lifestyle is the Key
According to Sarah Baillie, a 31-year old New Yorker, “It gave me confidence in my decision because it meant the effects of my choice go beyond my own life.” Sarah works as a population and sustainability organizer at the Center of Biological Diversity.
The married couple Nancy Madrid and her husband are both responsible citizens in dealing with their wastes. They extended their efforts to help in the environmental issues through energy conservation, reduced meat consumption, application of the four Rs (Reduce, Re-use, Recycle and Repair) of waste management, and being child-free.
Being child-free is a conscious decision that the couple has agreed on. They both are not so keen to become parents, thus strengthened their decision even more. They believed that having no children is an eco-friendly lifestyle.
It was also stressed out by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, co-sponsor of the Green New Deal that, “Even people my age are stressed and have anxiety about having kids just because we want to make sure we are bringing our kids into a healthy world, into a stable future, and we shouldn’t ever have to be anxious about that.”
The Government’s Lack of Urgency
Nancy Madrid also pointed out her environmental concerns to the politicians by saying “The lack of urgency for politicians to adequately address these issues while there is an inevitable threat of environmental disaster and a shortage of resources is pretty frightening. I think the pandemic, and more recently the winter storm crisis in Texas, definitely reaffirmed our decision and we were truly fortunate that we only had to worry about taking care of each other during such stressful and uncertain times. So, if there was ever any real desire to become parents, it would be greatly outweighed by the fact that we feel we are currently unable to provide a safe environment and future for our children.”
Being Child-free is not for Everyone
While a child-free lifestyle is not ideal for most families, a study that was published in the journal of Climate Change has proven that supporters of this idea are growing. It was discovered that among 607 Americans with ages 27-45, there are 59.8% are conscious with regards to the effect of the carbon footprints that a child will contribute. There are 96.5% of Americans who focus their concern on the health of a child living in this time of climate change.
These women have made strong points in their decision of remaining child-free, they are still aware that their decision will not be welcoming to hear on some company such as parents, aspiring parents, and other people who love kids in general. While they do not impose this on everyone, they just wanted to provide the right information and to let this become a guide in choosing one’s family size and how to be able to manage well the anticipated impact that it could bring to the environment.
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