Save the Planet: Have Fewer Kids

#1
OrangeEmpire

OrangeEmpire

The White Debonair
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#1
Save the Planet: Have Fewer Kids - Yahoo! News

For people who are looking for ways to reduce their "carbon footprint," here's one radical idea that could have a big long-term impact, some scientists say: Have fewer kids.

A study by statisticians at Oregon State University concluded that in the United States, the carbon legacy and greenhouse gas impact of an extra child is almost 20 times more important than some of the other environment-friendly practices people might employ during their entire lives - things like driving a high mileage car, recycling, or using energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs.

"In discussions about climate change, we tend to focus on the carbon emissions of an individual over his or her lifetime," said study team member Paul Murtaugh. "Those are important issues and it's essential that they should be considered. But an added challenge facing us is continuing population growth and increasing global consumption of resources."

Reproductive choices haven't gained as much attention in the consideration of human impact to the Earth, Murtaugh said. When an individual produces a child - and that child potentially produces more descendants in the future - the effect on the environment can be many times the impact produced by a person during their lifetime.

A child's impact

Under current conditions in the United States, for instance, each child ultimately adds about 9,441 metric tons of carbon dioxide to the carbon legacy of an average parent - about 5.7 times the lifetime emissions for which, on average, a person is responsible.

The impact doesn't only come through increased emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases - larger populations also generate more waste and tax water supplies.

Other offbeat environmental impacts have been in the news recently:

  • One 2007 study found that divorce squanders resources, because people who once shared resources such as energy now use twice as much under two roofs.
  • The current obesity epidemic may also be hurting the climate, because food production is a major contributor to global warming.
The impact of having children differs between countries. While some developing nations have much higher populations and rates of population growth than the United States, their overall impact on the global carbon equation is often reduced by shorter life spans and less consumption. The long-term impact of a child born to a family in China is less than one-fifth the impact of a child born in the United States, the study found.

However, as the developing world increases both its population and consumption levels, this equation may even out.

"China and India right now are steadily increasing their carbon emissions and industrial development, and other developing nations may also continue to increase as they seek higher standards of living," Murtaugh said.

Not advocating law

The researchers note that they are not advocating government controls or intervention on population issues, but say they simply want to make people aware of the environmental consequences of their reproductive choices.

"Many people are unaware of the power of exponential population growth," Murtaugh said. "Future growth amplifies the consequences of people's reproductive choices today, the same way that compound interest amplifies a bank balance."

Murtaugh's findings are detailed in a 2009 issue of the journal Global Environmental Change.

LiveScience.com chronicles the daily advances and innovations made in science and technology. We take on the misconceptions that often pop up around scientific discoveries and deliver short, provocative explanations with a certain wit and style. Check out our science videos, Trivia & Quizzes and Top 10s. Join our community to debate hot-button issues like stem cells, climate change and evolution. You can also sign up for free newsletters, register for RSS feeds and get cool gadgets at the LiveScience Store.
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Seriously?

:banghead2:
 
#3
#3
You know, all these people that think we're getting overpopulated...nothing is stopping them from killing themselves.
 
#5
#5
Memo to OE:

A. Dispatch your missive immediately to Travis Henry.

B. You do know visine has been invented??
 
#9
#9
hndog609 said:
If I shot 5 environmentalists would that make me carbon neutral?
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Roger on that hound dog, with a couple of stipulations, you must use smokeless powder and you have to call it 'cap and trade.'

Now if you capped 10 and threw in a few animal rights activists and called it a stimulous program, you could qualify for government subsidies.
 
#10
#10
VolsSportsFan said:
You know, all these people that think we're getting overpopulated...nothing is stopping them from killing themselves.
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Interesting concept, if they didn't use smokeless powder, that could be detrimental to the environment, so you readily see their dilemma.

Now a thought that has intrigued me is what if 2 billion Chinese all held their breath for a full minute at the same time???

How many tons of CO2 would that be???

Would that plunge our delicate atmosphere into the next ice age??

Or if, when they all exhale, would antartica experience a heat wave??

So many questions, so little time to ask them all. :scare:
 
#11
#11
Those with a higher level of education might pay heed to this warning. The average ghetto born Obamites will continue to multiply faster than roaches.
 
#12
#12
SavageOrangeJug said:
Those with a higher level of education might pay heed to this warning. The average ghetto born Obamites will continue to multiply faster than roaches.
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Not much of a movie overall but everybody needs to watch the first few minutes of Idiocracy. It looks spookily prescient.
 
#13
#13
hndog609 said:
Not much of a movie overall but everybody needs to watch the first few minutes of Idiocracy. It looks spookily prescient.
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Sort of like a Jay Leno man on the street interview?? I've been trying to get a copy of that movie for a while now.


To savage (I think, my multi quote isn't working again):

I've never been in a mosque, but it is my understanding that immans in America at the end of each sermon, exort their people to have at least five children. Not that we aren't importing muslims like it was going out of style.
 
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