A thought provoking reference regarding the environmental effects of having a child:
A SPECIAL SECTION FOR CORRESPONDENCE AND CONTROVERSY - THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES OF HAVING A BABY IN THE UNITED-STATES Author(s): HALL CAS, PONTIUS RG, COLEMAN L, KO JY Source: POPULATION AND ENVIRONMENT 15 (6): 505-524 JUL 1994 Abstract: This paper gives crude estimates of the environmental consequences associated with the birth of one baby in the United States. We calculate the magnitude of one hundred environmental impacts which one American born today will cause over a lifetime. The impacts are grouped under five headings: waste generation, mineral consumption, energy consumption, ecosystem alteration, and food consumption. We also consider, but do not quantify, impacts on extinctions of species and indigenous cultures. Our purpose is to emphasize the role of population growth in the creation of environmental problems, and to make potential parents aware of their ability to impact the global environment. We conclude that one especially effective way for individuals to protect the national and global environment, and hence protect the wellbeing of all existing people, is to stop creating more humans. --------------- I am not against people having (up to two) children. I have a 2-year-old daughter myself. But let's not underestimate the "environmental footprint" of a baby born in the U.S. -Geoff Poole
