Childbearing In A Time Of Climate Change

More than a third of millennials share Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's worry about having kids while the threat of climate change looms

Eliza Relman and Walt Hickey, March 4, 2019 (Business Insider)

“…[A new informal] poll found that nearly a third of Americans — and about 38% of those between 18 and 29 years old — believe a couple should consider the negative effects of climate change when deciding whether or not to have children…[A December 2018 NY Times poll found 11% of respondents "didn't want children or weren't sure" because they were "worried about climate change," and 33% were having fewer children than they ideally wanted because of climate-change worries. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently made headlines] when she suggested that some young Americans are concerned about having children because of the threat that climate change could pose to future generations…[She said there is scientific consensus that climate change will make the lives of millennials’ children “very difficult" and said her peers] are grappling with the question: "Is it OK to still have children?"

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…[The informal SurveyMonkey Audience poll] found that nearly 30% of Americans either strongly agree, agree, or somewhat agree that a couple should consider the negative and potentially life-threatening effects of climate change when deciding whether or not to have children. Just more than 8% of Americans strongly agreed that climate change should be a consideration…About 18% of Americans strongly disagreed that the future impacts of climate change should be considered by would-be parents…[22%] said they neither agreed nor disagreed, and 7% said they did not know…Notably, younger people are much more likely to consider the threats of a planet more prone to extreme weather, droughts, floods, and wildfires when deciding whether to have kids…Agreement was also linked to the belief that climate change is man-made…” click here for more

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