this post was submitted on 19 Feb 2024
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The memes of the climate
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IDK how I feel about this argument.
Some people don't care about having kids, others have an innate desire to do so, a biological contact that yearns for fulfilment.
Maybe it's a lame appeal to emotion but one of the defining characteristics of life is the ability to reproduce.
If you're not into kids, it's pretty easy to say "people should stop having kids", but that assertion is a bit of a kick in the guts to those that feel that drive.
It's a bit of a moot point for people in developed countries anyway. As in we can all congratulate ourselves on being enlightened enough to realise that we're overpopulated, but there's billions of people having as many children as possible to support them in their retirement.
Unachievable though it may be, I think global universal education, healthcare, and UBI is the solution to over population.
I agree that if you don't feel the need to have children, it is very easy to argue that its a good move, compared to if you have the biological desire to have them. On the other hand, you can argue that this is what environmental movements are all about. Controlling our desires, in order to avoid exploiting the ecosystem.
I understand that not everyone can accept not having children, especially if the reason is be to help the climate. On the other hand, we don't recognize the same "kick in the gut" to someone who feels the need to eat red meat, explore the world or own a big house.
To me, stopping a line of expanding consumerism is a very strong move, as a long term climate action. I can't compare them to short term actions, but not putting more human in the world, who will keep consuming, and will keep adding even more consumers in the world, feels better to me than turning vegan. I can help the itch, of needing children, by caring for the children in my closest family or even help local organisations setup to match adults to children (a sort of freelance parent/mentor)
Imagine thinking that telling people on the internet to not have kids is an effective strategy against climate change, while downplaying the importance of going vegan. Continuing to be an animal abuser is also more than a kick in the gut to all the animals who are born in extreme captivity, live a life of constant torture and rape, only to be slaughtered (usually in childhood) just so people can satiate their gluttony for a little sensory pleasure and delude themselves into thinking they need to do that because they've been trained by unscientific marketing teams into thinking it's the only way they can get protein.
On the other hand there are a lot of antinatalists in the vegan communities. So if you went vegan, you'd be in good company.
I don't need to imagine it. I just did it.
I don't argue that we need to pick one over the other though. Simply that there is no one right way to everybody.
Kudos to you if you do both and even better if you also don't have a car and drink rain water.