Over Population

[Butterfly Dawn]

We have 3. we wanted 3.
hubby is Chinese and we live in China atm. Its a constant - omg they have 3 kids!
I know over population and countries being not self sufficient is a problem but I see 1st hand what population control does to people.
Yes they say the laws have changed here but that doesn't help those who have suffered as a result of these laws.
its a big argument that breaks hearts and souls.

[Three Graces]

hmm, the cynic in me wants to ask whether people consider only using one car or no car at all, not use central heating/air conditioning etc and whether people would happily drink recycled sewerage to reduce the impact on the environment and strain on (water) resources in this country before deciding not to have more children?
I think it's too simplistic to just say 'don't have more than one child or 2 children' etc: like what Pumpkin Zulu said - it's the way that we're already choosing to live that has more of an impact than the actual size of the family. I also believe that as we (stupidly) exhaust resources, we're going to be forced to utilise more sustainable ways and truly embrace things such as solar energy and wind power on a much larger scale. So, to answer your question (finally) no, we didn't take it into consideration when we had our 3 children.

I just looked at your signature and saw that you've got 3 angel babies and your 2 DD's. You don't think that there's a tiny possibility that DH is worried that you might lose another baby if you tried again? Just putting it out there. I hope you're able to work through this with your DH, given this is the first time he's raised the issue against having more children.

[Freya]

No we didn't consider it when we decided on family size. I think you'll find statistically 3 or more child families are not the norm. Anything above 4 would be unusual. In my experience those with 'large' families tend to live more financially and ecologically conscious than those I know with less than 3 children.

I think limiting family size is a lazy solution to 'over population' and the burden on resources; it clearly hasn't worked for China and instead opened up a whole new world of problems.

[Phteven]

hmm, the cynic in me wants to ask whether people consider only using one car or no car at all, not use central heating/air conditioning etc and whether people would happily drink recycled sewerage to reduce the impact on the environment and strain on (water) resources in this country before deciding not to have more children?

Crazy as it seems....... people do. They even build eco houses, permaculture gardens and use composting toilets

[Floweryfields]

hmm, the cynic in me wants to ask whether people consider only using one car or no car at all, not use central heating/air conditioning etc and whether people would happily drink recycled sewerage to reduce the impact on the environment and strain on (water) resources in this country before deciding not to have more children?

There was a toilet flushing thread recently where people couldn't bare not flushing away wee every time so the cynic in me also wonders the same thing. There surely must be plenty of responsible alternatives before we go down the population control path?

[onthefly]

I think, realistically, we have to do both. The human population is growing - and it's something that has to be considered on a global level, rather than just locally. But yes, lifestyles need to change, too. They will, rapidly and painfully, when they have to. It makes sense to consider both before we actually *have* to.


If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down.