WIBU to point out this hypocrisy to environmentally obsessed colleague?

[Morphene]

I've a work colleague who never seems to stop banging on about environmental things. Constantly nagging about people going on holiday by plane, driving to work, using plastic bottles etc.

The thing is that he has two kids and has a third on the way - all very much planned. So WIBU to interrupt his next diatribe by pointing out to him that I could go on a transatlantic flight every year for the rest of my life while driving a fleet of gas guzzlers and it still wouldn't amount to the level of environmental damage his choices are causing?

[Morphene]

I'm just studying up ALL THE FACTS so I can keep a good monologue going to cover all potential interruption attempts....

[Florriesma]

Do make sure you update us all.

[Morphene]

I think I''ve decided to unleash the tampon/mooncup debate next time it gets raised...less chance of hypocrisy and more chance of stunned silence for months or even years to come....

[GhostsToMonsoon]

RudeDog- how do you know the animal feed isn't made from imported ingredients?

Quite a few prominent environmentalists have children - George Monbiot, Mark Lynas, Jonathon Porritt, Caroline Lucas for example.

[RudeDog]

Most bores I know are hypocrites....

The environmentalists I know have all have numerous children.
The one vegan I know is obsessed with processed vegan food and food shipped in from far off places - probably more damaging to animals that eating local animal products.

[misshelena]

Say, "I did my share for the environment -- I have only one kid." If he accuses you of criticizing him for having 3 kids, you can say "Yup, that's right" or you can say "I am sure you make up for that environmental trespass in other ways"

Personally I would have a go at him. Can't stand intellectual hypocrisy!

[SnickersWasAHorse]

The issue isn't the amount of children people are having, it's that people are living longer.

In fairness it's both. And that the levels of child mortality have greatly reduced. But you can't really say to be 'just die at 70 and make sure only two of you children make it past 5' can you.

[GhostsToMonsoon]

I get your point especially as he's exceeded population replacement level but it might not go down well. There's also a danger of implying that once you've had children you lose the right to express concern over environmental issues.

[BadLad]

"I've a work colleague who never seems to stop banging on about environmental things. Constantly nagging about people going on holiday by plane, driving to work, using plastic bottles etc.*

"Fuck off, you ridiculous boring helmet"

[CaptainMarvelDanvers]

The issue isn't the amount of children people are having, it's that people are living longer.

[drinkingtea]

Having one fewer children will reduce your personal impact by 58.6 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year - the first child isn't a carbon neutral freebie, not having that child will reduce your impact as compared to having that child...

[Gingerandgivingzerofucks]

Can't you just tell him you don't want to hear it? Or as would have happened in my last office "Dave, bore off, no one wants to hear it. I am making a cuppa, fancy one?."

OR



OR (my favourite option)

[Morphene]

ah the good old IOP!

[toosexyforyahshirt]

No thanks, but there are plenty of books available if you care to read. I'm not Google!

[drinkingtea]

That's helpful. please explain then.

[drinkingtea]

toosexy why is it stupid to choose not to have children if you are genuinely commited to reducing overpopulation?

[toosexyforyahshirt]

Yes, you have misunderstood.

[drinkingtea]

toosexy are you trying to say that only people from races and cultures in danger of population decline should have children, and implying that rich white people are in danger of becoming extinct presumably I have misunderstood ...

[MsSusanStoHelit]

Oh and the graph in the Guardian is based on a bar chart from a proper peer reviewed journal called Environmental Research Letters.

The article is Open Access and can be viewed here: iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa7541

[toosexyforyahshirt]

For this reason the only people with the moral high ground are the ones who selflessly decided to have no children despite wanting and being able to have them

They aren't on any moral high ground. That's not selfless, that's stupidity.

[MsSusanStoHelit]

I'm with @PastaOfMuppets - I would probably have already had this fight with him, twice.

But genuine healthy debate is quite normal around here, especially if someone is being a boring arse about something.

[toosexyforyahshirt]

There is no danger of the human race dying out

There are dangers of certain cultures, even races dying out though. The naive Western shallow-ecologist viewpoint of overpopulation would see rich countries fail to reproduce themselves while developing nations have population increase.
They miss more than half the point!

[drinkingtea]

I don't think the "1 is perfect because we have to ensure the human race survives" argument is convincing. That's just an excuse for your choice to indulge your wish to have a child. There is no danger of the human race dying out - the only genuinely selfless environmentally responsible decision is to avoid reproduction and adopt children to bring up responsibly.

I am not saying that once you've had a child you might as well have 12 because the damage is done, obviously but it is very disingenuous to claim that having even one child is a responsible decision on a global scale unless you genuinely believe the world needs your own very special offspring or that everyone else is cooincidentally going to simultaneously stop reproducing.

For this reason the only people with the moral high ground are the ones who selflessly decided to have no children despite wanting and being able to have them. Everyone who tries to preach about overpopulation after choosing to add even one child is throwing stones from a glass house...

[Morphene]

Okay now I have seriously got it!

Next time he starts up I will counter with a long tale of the environmental damage that sanitary products do to the environment and fill in all the gory details of my ongoing battle to find a mooncup my body will accept.

This will go down an absolute bomb in my almost entirely male work environment and will surely prevent all future discussion of the environment for the next year or two.

[UnderCrackers5]

Tell him that if we didn't have planes we wouldn't be able to drop bombs on foreigners. His head will explode - end of problem