I have been asked by friends and family why Jason and I don’t adopt children. We’ve been told that we would be great parents and that we have so much love to offer a child. The issue for Jason and I having a child is not about how much love we have to give because between the both of us, there would be plenty. Our concern is more about whether or not we are financially stable to ensure that (if we had a child) they would have everything they need. Jason and I have discussed the possibility of a child – the discussion was short and both of us agreed that having a child didn’t make sense for us.
Recently – I made the following statement on my Facebook page:
What would happen if we taxed families for how many children they had? I don’t have any so why are my taxes the same as those who do? Thoughts? To elaborate – think about the environmental impact a family that consists of 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 children – diapers, meat consumption (let’s get real, most people eat meat and that has a huge environmental impact), carbon footprint etc….much more than me, my partner and small dog. Food for thought.
Let me just say that I am not anti-family or for people having children….I just want people to be more present in the choices that they make and what implications they may have on the planet as a whole. Let’s be real – most people DO NOT think beyond what they can see. How many of us really think about the amount of garbage that we are contributing to landfills everyday or what the environmental implications of meat consumption are? Most of us don’t care about these things because we don’t see the outcome. We don’t live in the slums of India or Brazil and are not faced with the poverty and starvation that so many millions face on a daily basis.
What are people’s motives for having children today? Is it because they can? Do they feel morally obligated to do so or is it to continue their family name? Whatever the reason – I don’t believe people are putting much thought into their decision to have a child. How many times have you heard this: “We didn’t mean to have a baby, it just happened” or “He/she was an accident”………obviously not much thought was given about what could possible happen after having unprotected sex.
I am not complaining about paying taxes – I agree that our government should use our taxes to offer welfare or social services to those who are in need of them. Now consider this – a family of six may require more space, produce more garbage, drive more, etc….while someone who chooses to be single doesn’t require as much – shouldn’t that single person deserve more of a tax-break due to the reduced carbon footprint? We are living in a time when scientists are saying that we will require 7 more earth’s to accommodate humanity’s current dependency on fossil fuels and lifestyle, so why isn’t that message getting across? Why wouldn’t people make more of a conscious effort in their decision to have children. If our planet will not be able to accommodate us – where will all these people go? I hear they are building colonies on the moon or even Mars – is that even a reality for families that can’t even pay to put food on the table?
My original Facebook statement wasn’t meant to upset anyone – it was meant to provoke thought and debate. It was meant to make each of us look at ourselves and really think about the implications of the choices we make. We have to stop being distracted by the promises of BIG CORPORATIONS. We have to wake-up from the dreams the pharmaceutical companies promise and we have to take off the blinders to ensure we are present and are making the choices we want to make and not what the food, government and automobile industries tell us we should be making. When we remove those distractions, maybe bringing a child into this harsh reality isn’t as easy to make as it was prior to all the distractions.
For more information about over population, please visit: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/eye/overpopulation/effect.html or http://www.naturalnews.com/039490_overpopulation_myth_ecological_footprint_population_collapse.html
To review the environmental implications of meat consumption, please visit: http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/agriculture/beef/environmental_impacts/ or http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/publications/agriculture/2013/Ecological-Livestock.pdf
For more information on the current state of our environment, please visit: http://350.org/ or http://www.davidsuzuki.org/
Knowledge is power!
Together, we can make the world a more positive one!
COALITION OF POSITIVE ENERGY 