This is third in a series of AlterNet articles on population growth.
The first explored the trend toward smaller families. The second examined a new family planning model that can capitalize on that trend. The current piece – 5 Ways Thoughtful Family Planning Can Protect Children, Wildlife, Our Democracy – and the Future – explores ways to implement that change.
This article was made possible by the readers and supporters of AlterNet.
[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”]
[et_pb_row admin_label=”row”]
[et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]Are you sick of hearing about climate change without being able to do anything truly meaningful about it? But we can take action! Today Having Kids is launching our Protect Your World campaign. It’s simple:
We all know that if you want to better the world, you can think globally but need to act locally. And when it comes to mitigating climate change (and almost every other way we are destroying our children’s environment), the best way is by working with others to plan smaller and more sustainable families.
Having Kids is working with local governments to adopt policies, often as part of their Climate Action Plans, to:
You can make this case in your community, too!
Please start with this sample letter, and use it to open a dialogue with your local town, city, or county government about the need to take a position on family planning.
You can contact us to assist with the process.
The best way to protect your world is by changing the way we all plan families.
Let’s get started![/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column]
[/et_pb_row]
[/et_pb_section]
[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Post Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]
Post from guest blogger Courtney.
Like most Americans, I am well aware of the dangers of global warming. The topic is a common subject across media platforms, occupying space on television news, blogs, and Facebook posts. Most people in progressive circles express a fair amount of certainty that thanks to climate change, life on this planet will be very difficult for its inhabitants, even 50 years from now.
And yet, the context, even one as dire as many of us envision, does not currently play a central role in people’s decision to have children. This seems odd, but it’s a natural consequence of the one-sided parenting model we now operate under. Under the three-sided model proposed by Having Kids, people would frame their decision not only in terms of their own desires, but also in the interest of their children and of the community/society.
In an environmental context where global warming is a major factor, potential parents should weigh their desire to parent against the wellbeing of their future child, as well as the ability of the community to respond effectively to a changing climate and environment. Such decision-making might result in a person deciding not to have children or deciding to have fewer children — children they would better equip to live in this more challenging world. Either way, the decision would be one that emerged from a broader — and some might say truer — perspective on the situation at hand.
At Having Kids:
We promote and protect every child’s right to a fair start in life by replacing unsustainable, parent-centered family planning models with the human rights-based and child-centered Fair Start family planning model. The model suggests a shift in family planning from a subjective focus on just the parents, to an objective focus that considers the interests of the potential child, the parents, and the community.
It’s all about this: Smaller families working together to give every child a fair start in life.
Today many families are adopting the Fair Start family planning model. First, they try to give their child a fair start in life by having a smaller family where they can invest more in their child. Often they also foster or adopt one of the many children eagerly waiting for parents rather than creating additional need. Second, they publicly role model their choices. Finally, these families join public advocacy campaigns to shift resources from extractive centers of power like governments, corporations, and wealthy families in order to democratically empower children and future citizens by incentivizing better family planning by all parents. Why? All parents know that the quality of their own child’s life will depend on how other parents decide to have and raise their kids.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_cta admin_label=”Action Button” button_url=”https://fairstartmovement.org/model/” url_new_window=”off” button_text=”Learn More” use_background_color=”off” background_color=”#18aacc” background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_button=”on” button_letter_spacing=”0″ button_use_icon=”on” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ saved_tabs=”all” button_bg_color=”#ea593c” button_border_color=”#ffac9b” button_font=”|||on|” button_icon=”%%20%%” button_bg_color_hover=”rgba(234,89,60,0.8)” /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
Changing the way we plan families is the most effective way to fight climate change. We can’t ignore the need for reform and still claim to care about either the environment or children. Without rational, fair start family planning, we will be condemning countless children to an unfair life at the mercy of a dangerous climate.
As part of Earth Day 2017, Having Kids is urging Los Angeles and Berkeley to update their historic climate change action plans with a novel but powerful provision: increased funding for family planning.
Many major cities have climate action plans, and these are increasingly important as the federal government fails to take action to mitigate the effects of climate change. But these cities do not address family planning as an effective way to respond.
A study by statisticians at Oregon State University found that the greenhouse gas impact of having an additional child in the U.S. is almost 20 times greater than a lifetime of recycling, reducing, and reusing. They also found that each child born in the U.S. will add about 9,441 metric tons of carbon dioxide to the carbon legacy of an average parent. The study concludes, “Clearly, the potential savings from reduced reproduction are huge compared to the savings that can be achieved by changes in lifestyle.”
Carter Dillard, Having Kids’ co-founder and President, notes: “In light of the exponentially positive long-term environmental impact of family planning, increasing these services must play a key role in continuing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
“California’s cities should once again lead the nation by recognizing the irrefutable link between investment in family planning programs and the prospects for climate change,” says Anne Green, Executive Director of Having Kids. “Let’s do what’s most effective, help cities in other states do the same, and make up for what is lacking at the federal level.”
Increased focus on family planning has numerous environmental and social benefits, including decreasing various forms of pollution, alleviating pressure on housing and social services, and reducing traffic. Given the unparalleled results family planning can produce, cities have little reason not to include provisions in major initiatives like their climate action plans.
[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Post Text” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” global_colors_info=”{}”]
According to a story on NPR’s All Things Considered,
[S]lowing population growth could eliminate one-fifth to one-quarter of all the carbon emissions that need to be cut by midcentury to avoid that potentially catastrophic tipping point.
…
Oregon State University researchers have calculated the savings from all kinds of conservation measures: driving a hybrid, driving less, recycling, using energy-efficient appliances, windows and light bulbs. For an American, the total metric tons of carbon dioxide saved by all of those measures over an entire lifetime of 80 years: 488. By contrast, the metric tons saved when a person chooses to have one fewer child: 9,441.
Smaller families also result in parents who have more time and energy to invest in the children they already have. And everyone will benefit from the less crowded communities smaller families will create, communities where each one of our voices has more of a chance to be heard.
But it’s not enough for thoughtful and caring people to make this choice. The worst possible outcome would be for parents who care about the future to have smaller families, while those who don’t care do the opposite. Parents who lack empathy for future generations will instill in their own kids that same disregard for the larger community, endangering all of us. That’s why it’s time to have a public conversation about family planning, family models, and what’s best for everyone. It’s right to do so because the decision affects every one of us—and every one of our kids.
Don’t be afraid to speak out in support of smaller families. You can start by telling your friends you’ve adopted the Having Kids model. The children who will grown and thrive in a clean future environment will thank you for breaking the silence.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_cta button_url=”https://fairstartmovement.org/adopt-the-model/” button_text=”Adopt the Model” admin_label=”Action Button” _builder_version=”4.16″ use_background_color=”off” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_button=”on” button_bg_color=”#ea593c” button_border_color=”#ffac9b” button_font=”|||on|” button_icon=”5||divi||400″ text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ button_bg_color_hover=”rgba(234,89,60,0.8)” saved_tabs=”all” global_colors_info=”{}” button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”on” button_letter_spacing__hover=”0″ button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”on” button_bg_color__hover=”rgba(234,89,60,0.8)” button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off”] [/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Post Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]
All of us have been able to live on a planet where we can bear witness to wild animals living, playing, hunting, and loving in their own worlds. Our children may not be able to do the same — at least not in the same way we have.
According to a recent World Wildlife Fund report, wildlife populations continue to plummet. And while there is debate about the exact rates of disappearance, even critics agree that the 20th century saw massive loss of wildlife. And the trend is continuing.
What does that have to do with the Having Kids model? The underlying drivers of things like mass extinctions, anthropogenic climate change, ocean acidification, and crowded cities include family size and consumption. And the solutions to those causes include reordering basic values that underlie our human rights and democratic systems, and thinking about the natural world. We need to be intentional about the way we create communities and consume resources in order to protect habitats and the animals we have all grown to love. The Having Kids model is the only family model that addresses, and balances, all of these things.
Children have a right to a world with wildlife. Let’s give it to them.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_cta admin_label=”Action Button” button_url=”https://fairstartmovement.org/faqs/” url_new_window=”off” button_text=”Learn More” use_background_color=”off” background_color=”#18aacc” background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_button=”on” button_letter_spacing=”0″ button_use_icon=”on” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ saved_tabs=”all” button_bg_color=”#ea593c” button_border_color=”#ffac9b” button_font=”|||on|” button_icon=”%%20%%” button_bg_color_hover=”rgba(234,89,60,0.8)”] [/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Post Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]
How does family planning protect our environment? This is the question researchers at the Worldwatch Institute recently set out to answer. Their findings may provide the key to addressing many of the environmental crises we face today.
Robert Engelman, project director, found that while their “group assessment of recent scientific literature did not ‘prove’ that family planning promotes environmental sustainability, we found plenty of supporting evidence that it is helpful,” including the effectiveness of increased use of contraception — especially long-acting reversible contraceptives — by young Americans.
The Family Planning and Environmental Sustainability Assessment (FPESA) provides vital and hard evidence addressing the often-taboo subject of how family planning affects the world’s environments. This information helps support the work of any organization addressing the role of family planning in achieving things like the Sustainable Development Goals, climate change mitigation, the protection of the most at-risk ecosystems, and more.
As the Assessment suggests, sometimes seemingly unrelated issues — like decisions about creating a family and the future of the world’s environment — are deeply intertwined. Having Kids seeks to make these connections as we work to create a more sustainable future for us all.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_cta admin_label=”Action Button” button_url=”https://fairstartmovement.org/having-kids-is-different/” url_new_window=”off” button_text=”Learn More” use_background_color=”off” background_color=”#18aacc” background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_button=”on” button_letter_spacing=”0″ button_use_icon=”on” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ saved_tabs=”all” button_bg_color=”#ea593c” button_border_color=”#ffac9b” button_font=”|||on|” button_icon=”%%20%%” button_bg_color_hover=”rgba(234,89,60,0.8)”] [/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Post Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]
Recently, NPR asked a very important question: should we be having kids in the age of climate change? Professors at Johns Hopkins have been asking this question for a very long time. Their conclusion is that we can, but we should significantly limit the number of children we have in order to reduce carbon emissions and give populations susceptible to climate change their best chance.
And that’s what the Having Kids model is all about. It’s about asking smaller families to work together to plan a better future for every child. That means that potential parents should think about their future children and the community that their children will enter. They need to ask the question, “What would give my child, my community, and other children the best quality of life?” They will quickly find that limiting their family size and contributing resources to their community to help create a safe place for their child to grow are the best options, especially in the face of climate change.
The statistics NPR cites on the carbon emissions of large families, relative to other lifestyle choices, are sobering. Below are a few examples of how much carbon dioxide (in metric tons) is saved over a lifetime (80 years) by a typical American for certain actions, including not having one child.
Source: “Reproduction and the carbon legacies of individuals” by Paul A. Murtaugh and Michael G. Schlax
For too long, parenting models focused on the choices of the parents without putting them in the context of a larger community. These models didn’t emphasize the needs of future children. Having Kids wants to change the conversation. We want potential parents to think critically about the needs of their child, the world they want to bring their child into, and how they will ensure that world becomes a reality. We want to see a world where the impacts of climate change are prevented, and where every child can be guaranteed a high quality of life.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_cta admin_label=”Action Button” button_url=”https://fairstartmovement.org/model/” url_new_window=”off” button_text=”Learn About the Model” use_background_color=”off” background_color=”#18aacc” background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_button=”on” button_letter_spacing=”0″ button_use_icon=”on” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ saved_tabs=”all” button_bg_color=”#ea593c” button_border_color=”#ffac9b” button_font=”|||on|” button_icon=”%%20%%” button_bg_color_hover=”rgba(234,89,60,0.8)”] [/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Post Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]
To celebrate the birth of the first child of King Khesar and Queen Jetson, households in Bhutan planted trees. The move comes as part of a larger initiative in Bhutan, which has pledged to remain carbon neutral. It’s holding up its promise by becoming one of the few countries in the world to have negative carbon emissions.
Having a child? Maybe skip some of the toys, clothes, and other things kids don’t need as much as a safe future in which he or she will thrive… and plant trees instead. The Having Kids model supports forward thinking like this.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_cta admin_label=”Action Button” button_url=”https://fairstartmovement.org/adopt-the-model/” url_new_window=”off” button_text=”Adopt the Model” use_background_color=”off” background_color=”#18aacc” background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_button=”on” button_letter_spacing=”0″ button_use_icon=”on” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ saved_tabs=”all” button_bg_color=”#ea593c” button_border_color=”#ffac9b” button_font=”|||on|” button_icon=”%%20%%” button_bg_color_hover=”rgba(234,89,60,0.8)”] [/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]