Facebook
Chris Van Loan is a senior at the University of Texas in Austin. A lifelong Austin native, Chris is now a member of the Texas Youth Leadership Council -- a project of Advocates for Youth and the Texas Freedom Network.
I stumbled across an essay today on the internet that really spoke to me, I don't even remember how I got there!
Lisa Hymas writes for Grist.org, the most recognizable voice in environmental journalism. As someone who cares immensely about world population, articles such as: "Say it loud: I'm childfree and I'm Proud" and "8 Things You Can Do About World Population" (hint: the first one is "push to improve sex ed in your local schools") really grabbed my attention.
Here is a link to the living childfree article:
http://www.grist.org/article/2010-03-30-gink-manifesto-say-it-loud-im-childfree-and-im-proud
As a twenty-two year old who has decided that he will never have kids I often feel like I'm in a very silent minority so I'm always attracted to people who have the bravery to speak up on the issue. Hymas brings up an important concept regarding population called "exponential population growth." This is an idea that I've had rolling around my head but I could never articulate it so clearly. Simply put, kids will continue to have more offspring forever and ever and the environmental impact is huge.
In 1960 there were about 3 Billion people on Earth. Hymas brings up an example of a 93 year old woman who died with 2,000 living descendants. The woman had 15 children, 200 grandchildren and the numbers of great- and great-great- grandchildren were, well you guessed it, exponentially higher.
Ultimately, I would just like to spread the message that living childfree is a valid option despite all the pressure from the outside.
GINKers, what would happen if we answered the kid question honestly?
Say, " "No, I'm happy with my life as is," or "A child doesn't fit into our life plans," or "Kids aren't really my thing," or "I think there are plenty of people on the planet already." "
I don't know, what do you think? Leave comments below.
Chris Van Loan
www.vanloanfilm.com
