The Decline of the Human Family
Interesting website:
http://www.demographicwinter.com/
Fascinating to think that many still believe that overpopulation is a global problem.
posted by Heath Morber @ 6:57 AM
Thursday, March 06, 2008
http://www.demographicwinter.com/
Fascinating to think that many still believe that overpopulation is a global problem.
4 Comments:
Tag! You're it!
http://web.mac.com/tsrainer/Site/Family_Blog/Entries/2008/3/12_I’ve_been_tagged!.html
There was an interesting article in The Nation recently about the "demographic winter". The cover showed an empty crib and said something like "Europe: Missing the "Right" Babies". The main thing I remember is a discussion of women being "reduced" (not sure what to make of that wording, but I'm pretty sure it was in there) to producing babies and raising them, among some of those arguing for larger families. As you know, I am quite concerned about population issues because of the environmental impact of each child born into a developed country. I agree that there are problems with the economics of smaller generations, but for me, that's a problem with the way we have developed our economic systems. I simply can't imagine that I will ever be convinced that families having more than two children is a good thing for our planet, overall. There are lots of wonderful things about larger families, but for me, the environmental impact trumps them all.
Baby is waking. Must go.
Aimee
Aimee,
I think it depends on your worldview. We have to discern whether the earth is here to serve our purposes or if we are here to serve the purposes of the earth. Yes, we are called to be good stewards of God's creation, but we have to make sure we're not putting the cart before the horse.
HM
But if we are not good enough stewards of God's creation, the earth will no longer be able to serve our purposes. I think that the earth could support a much larger population if we all walked everywhere, ate lentils and rice at every meal, set our heat at 50, grew some of our own food, etc., but most of us are not willing to live that way if we have a choice. And in developed countries, it's not realistic for most people to get around by foot everywhere. That is why I believe that overpopulation is a real problem. Because as human beings become consumers (which always happens when societies become more prosperous), they consume more than their fair share of the earth's resources, despite themselves. Even those of us who are making a concerted effort to reduce our impact on the earth are still making a much greater impact than someone in a developing country.
Aimee
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