If you don’t have kids, do you care about climate change?

[Blankspace4]

I’m genuinely interested

YABU - I still care about climate change even though I don’t / can’t have children

YANBU - It doesn’t affect me - I don’t really care

I know the vote will polarise but also interested in comments. I can’t have children (long struggle, finally come to terms). I do try and act in the interests of the planet but frankly I am sick of the “think of your children and grandchildren” prevailing rationale - what does that mean for those of us who can’t have that?

@CityMumma78

I’m not spending my time worrying about something out of my control! I do what I can but won’t be going to extreme lengths! I eat meat but also have meat free days, my husband and I have cars, we want to fly away once a year on holiday, we also recycle are mindful of what we buy and have created wildlife sanctuaries in our front and back gardens (ponds, hibernaculums etc). Until the super rich change their ways flying in private jets, powerful cars, mansions with multiple rooms that require heating and lighting, swimming pools (er and Bezos superpollluting by playing with space rockets) start to show some consideration and the mega polluting countries like China, India and Brazil show more consideration then why should I make further sacrifices!!

Oh FFS. This is the problem isn’t it. So selfish

I concluded that I'm wasting my efforts at recycling when I saw a manufacturing order for one type of plastic bottle, for one non edible product, for one retailer - 2.65 BILLION bottles. Not a chance in hell that they'll all be recycled.

OK OP, I will give you a pass on this because I thought it was one of the childfree are monsters/why are they on MN type of comments.

I may not have children but I have nieces and nephews. I have lived in very polluted Asian cities so yes, I do care about breathing clean air - as I sounded like a 100 ciggies a day smoker when I left.

A better argument is that we need to use resources better - we've all got very wasteful and indulgent and don't really think about the cost to the environment or to others. Its also much better for our own health and our back pockets to simplify our lives and waste less. Whatever argument works though!

I do a lot of things but most people around me do whatever seems to be easiest, so it's all a bit futile.

I don't have kids. I care about climate change. The two things are entirely unrelated.

I find this OP rather bizarre. How can you care about the future of the planet if you don't have kids?

Easily. Because I am not a stone cold machine. Just like I care when I watch the news and see images of men, women and children - all complete strangers to me - dying of drought, famine, treatable disease and war in far-off countries.

@grapewine

YABU. I'm childfree not sociopathic.

This.

pp made a good argument about the things we worried about in the 70s (ozone layer, acid rain) and how individuals, industries and governments developed strategies to mitigate the damage we do.

So continue to recycle - and if you're all "meh it's going to landfill anyway" how about
a) finding alternatives
2) lobbying your local council to improve their recycling facilities
iii) lobbying manufacturers about their packaging?

Plenty of manufacturers here in Germany use 90% recycled plastic packaging, that's a good start.

There seem to be many people who do have children who don’t care about climate change.

I'm currently pregnant so will have a child soon.

I don't really care about recycling/and didn't before I became pregnant. I've often associated it as being a middle class preoccupation..poor people have more immediate issues to think about... I'll 'model' the more sociably responsible behavior in front of the child though....

As a side point, I've never thought about not having children because if the environment. I was and am more concerned about having meaningful connections in my life over whether or not I'll be polluting the planet further by having children.

Personal choices that effect your contribution to climate change

@jonhammsmistress

Personal choices that effect your contribution to climate change

Sorry not v clear image, but No 1 is "have one fewer child".

YABVU. I dont have kids BECAUSE I care about climate change.

I would love to have kids but made an active decision not to based on what I know. The world doesnt need more people and I couldn't live with the guilt of bringing a person into this world under current climate and ecological projections. Many of my colleagues and friends have made the same choice. Not having children is the biggest and most significant action I can take personally to combat climate change. If I'm completely honest, I often wander if those with large family's actually give a f*, or maybe they're just in denial.

[quote Blankspace4]@EnterFunnyNameHere I totally get that. For the avoidance of doubt I’m not saying I DON’T care, but that the rhetoric maybe needs to change a little.

I also don’t think the people blocking the m25 are really helping matters. If anything, they are turning people off??[/quote]
Sorry @blankspace4, didn't mean to sound like biting your head off!

For what it's worth, I do see your point, but the "please won't somebody think of the children" rhetoric has been used as a tool in so many arguments over the years, i don't see it stopping. Arguably, it actually is pertinent in climate change compared to things like ""gay marriage/no fault divorce/enter crazy statement here" will destroy the family unit - won't somebody think of the children " hysteria...

Plus, to be honest, I know LOTS of people (mostly with children) who simply don't care about the environment. I don't mind what tools are used for try and get those people to at least engage in the debate!

But, as others have said, personal choices will only get us so far - and probably not far enough...

This isn't really a question, is it?

It's a dog-whistle with the purpose of implying some very nasty things about child-free people without saying them out loud.

Lazylinguist
'That could only be argued if that's the reason they're not having children. Otherwise it's got literally nothing to do with caring about the issue.'

It doesn't matter which way you slice and dice it, the very fact that people don't have children will impact the environment, whether it was the defining reason or had nothing to do with the decision. It's a happy unintended consequence of someone deciding to remain child free.

Clueless, I was a little when a woman I know, currently pregnant with her fourth, said her large family wouldn't be environmentally damaging because her sister didn't want children she was basically using her sister's quota - a bit like carbon offsetting but with babies..........

I do know of a few individuals who 'used' for want of a better word the excuse of 'care about the environment too much' for not having children... when behind closed doors they were too grief stricken and needed a reason to tell others (as didn't feel comfortable explaining that they were involuntarily childless)... Or maybe the environmental reason over time became a passionate cause they cared about

@grapewine

YABU. I'm childfree not sociopathic.

Perfectly put.

@lazylinguist

It could be argued that the child free care more about climate change as having children is the single most damaging thing we do to the planet.

That could only be argued if that's the reason they're not having children. Otherwise it's got literally nothing to do with caring about the issue.

Seems to me this is the same argument in reverse for having children that some use “our children will be future bum wipers/cancer cure finders/pension payers and taxpayers” but that is not the reason anyone has them.

I’m childless (not by choice but that’s ok) but I do care about climate change.

Of course I care (though I do have kids).

The problem is we focus on our own impact and it's not that great in comparison to other parts of the world. We recycle a fair bit but as far as I can tell a lt of it is binned anyway as there isn't the capacity here to cope with all the recycling. Many of the 'eco friendly' alternatives are just as bad but push the problem elsewhere. Much of the land we have is unsuitable for arable agriculture but fine for live stock. No point in trying to reduce the population as it simply attracts people from areas of high population to move for a better life (who can blame them isn't that what lts of people have been doing/are doing here). So while I agree its a real problem I think it's one we in the west won't fix.

Because doing the right thing is not dependent on self interest.

Additional question, are the efforts we are doing and the extra money we are paying having an effect or not? Any evidence?

@VodselForDinner

Climate change is one of my reasons for remaining childfree.

This. Although I haven't completely decided yet, it's one of my main factors. Just read an article saying having one fewer child prevents 58.6 tonnes of carbon emission every year (compared with living car free 2.4 tonnes, avoiding a transatlantic flight 1.6tonnes or eating a plant based diet 0.82tonnes a year).

Nope, I don't

But by not having them I've done more to help limit climate change than any amount of recycling, carbon reduction or any other measure a human can take

I've got 2 DC and worry about climate change constantly and have done for about 40 years. Yes I'm worried for my own children but it's about everything and everyone that consumes me. It all feels so futile and yes people like that Amazon bloke using all that fossil fuel for 10 mins in space makes me want to howl.

Space rockets are powered by liquid oxygen and hydrogen, still a waste of those though for something essentially a joyride.

It's not a waste, the amount of knowledge and technology that has filtered down to everyday life as a result of the various space programs over the years is enormous.

Climate change is framed as being about kids and grandparents because, well, it is. The only reason to try to limit our impact on the climate is for future generations.