Meet the lady who was so afraid of local weather change that she made her husband snitch and refused to have kids – don't you care?

From DAILY SKEPTIC

from Sallust

The Mail published an article by a businesswoman in her 30s who vowed not to start a family. She even convinced her husband to have a vasectomy after doctors refused to sterilize her. Such decisions are the free choice of anyone and for any reason, but in this case it turns out that the alleged reason is climate change:

Because how can I bring an innocent warm bundle into the world when none of us can say that the world will even be habitable for them? Two new statistics have emerged in recent weeks – the first on widespread hand-wringing; barely a whimper in the second.

The first showed that the UK birth rate has fallen to its lowest level since records began. Between 2022 and 2023, the fertility rate in England and Wales fell from an average of 1.49 children per woman to 1.44 – the lowest rate on record and far less than would be needed to sustain an aging population.

And the second statistic? They were the ones who told us that 2024 is “almost certain” to be the hottest year on record, according to the European Climate Service.

A year marked by deadly heatwaves and catastrophic storms will end 1.5°C hotter than pre-industrial temperatures, passing for the first time the symbolic point at which we can no longer avoid the most devastating consequences of climate change – a range of Consequences that could lead to the widespread extinction of animal species and even the extinction of us.

For me, these two statistics are not independent of each other. It is difficult to raise a human being in today's world. Women cite the cost of child care, the impact on their careers, and the difficulty of finding a decent man to have a child with as reasons for not doing so. As a happily married businesswoman with my own sales company, these reasons do not apply to me.

She doesn't let herself be fooled:

Because of the threat of climate change, I will not have a child.

The world leaders gathered in Azerbaijan last week for the COP29 climate change conference should know that women like me are not having children because we are too afraid that increasing the world's population will only hasten their demise.

Whenever someone asks me about my childlessness, I tell them the truth and don't apologize for sounding harsh. “Why bring children into a world if we don’t know if it will exist in 100 years?”

The most common answer always amazes me: “Well, I don’t care because then I won’t be here anymore!” It’s such a selfish attitude.

Why do children have to fulfill a biological need and then not worry about the fact that the world they will live in is increasingly likely to resemble a post-apocalyptic wasteland? The seas are barren, the skies are raging, the deserts are expanding and there is no way to prevent this ecological catastrophe.

I've been afraid of what the future will bring for a long time. From the age of six, I had recurring nightmares in which I was pulled through a hole in the sky and my little body shot into space.

It seems that she is not alone:

I'm just a woman, but my decision isn't a particularly rare one. A US survey found that a quarter of adults without children cited climate change as one of the reasons – while a 2021 analysis by a global bank found that the decision “not to have children due to fear of climate change” was increasing and increasing impacting birth rates faster than any previous trend in fertility decline.”

The UK-based BirthStrike movement is made up of women who refuse to reproduce “to save money”. [their] Child from a dystopian existence”.

She rejects all arguments for having children as “selfish” (presumably in pre-modern times, when children had to reckon with high infant mortality, disease, catastrophes and revolutions, it was also unreasonably selfish, perhaps even more so), and cares Let Mail readers know how it is doing its bit to stop Britain turning into a boiling and barren desert:

I make sure to buy sustainable gifts for my godchildren from local businesses in North Yorkshire, where I live. I try to do things with my godchildren that teach them to appreciate the beauty of nature, such as long walks and collecting shells on the beach. I grow my own vegetables and support local producers whenever I can.

Every day I try to do something to help. I use a lower temperature in my washing machine, drive an electric car and recycle conscientiously. I use Vinted instead of buying new clothes and I have a rescue dog. My entire business is digital: We do not print and send all documents and contracts digitally. I use public transport to travel to business events.

Oddly enough, she worries about the impact of a decision like hers on her own retirement savings:

Who actually cares about my generation as a whole when there aren't enough young people to pay for pensions and the NHS?

Economists say the declining birth rate spells serious trouble for supposedly selfish women like me, who are to blame.

But if falling birth rates are a concern for policymakers, perhaps they should do something about it by strengthening our response to climate change.

It's not just the job of younger people to fund the older ones (I've worked since I was 16 and take full responsibility for my retirement income), but in any case the question of whether the state pension is keeping up with inflation is likely to be The least of our worries will be when Norfolk and the Thames Estuary are under water and wildfires are raging in our national parks.

The argument seems to be that if governments devoted every waking minute to preventing climate change, women like her might still have children. Perhaps. Or maybe there is a subtext. Who knows?

The article offers a fascinating insight into the psychological impact of state-sponsored fear-mongering, which may lead to the greatest catastrophe of all: a culture of outright negativity. One wonders why she bothers going to work, which, by the way, apparently involves helping other companies sell more products.

It's worth reading in full, if only to see how nihilistic climate change culture has become.

Like this:

How Load…

Related