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Many people are questioning whether they want to have children in this world because of the climate crisis.
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However, some climatologists are choosing to have children.
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They are hopeful that governments will consider climate change seriously.
On days that climate-crisis-fueled wildfires turn the sky an The apocalyptic orange, or when the beach is inaccessible because the path is flooded, or simply when my eyes catch a climate-anxiety-inducing headline, it’s impossible not to feel sadness, anger, fear, and Even guilt over the world my daughter was brought into.
Multiple surveys have shown that the Climate crisis impacts people’s decisionsTo have children. In a survey done in 2021, Modern FertilityMore than half of 2,800 respondents said they were considering having fewer children or reconsidering having kids because of climate change issues.
It is an incredible personal privilege to make the decision to be a parent. But it is one that is being influenced. The climate is in crisiss for increasing numbers of people. It made me wonder if climateologists are. Deciding to have childrenThey are able to do this despite everything they know Climate change.
Some climatologists are having children
“The part of me that wants to have a child is stronger than the one that dreads what the future will bring,” said Britt Wray, a Human and Planetary Health Fellow at Stanford University and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Wray, who studies mental-health effects of climate change, wrestled for four years before making her decision. In 2021, she had her child.
“Deciding to not have children because of climate awareness has always felt deeply rooted in my fearful psychological orientation towards life. I did not want this perspective to control my life. I am committed to creating joy for the people I love in spite of the scary truths. Wray stated that climate awareness has made her think more about the needs of supportive parenting in a warming world, than whether it is acceptable to have children at all.
Jia HuAssociate professor and director of the School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Arizona, Dr. Judith Grisham worries about the political instability that could result from the climate crisis and the additional inequalities it will create.
“I didn’t want to delay having children, because I knew of many friends who had had infertility problems and had had to have children later.” Hu, who has an 11 year-old son and a nine-year-old girl, said that while I knew that having children would have an ecological impact, the desire to have a family outweighed those fears.
One mom hopes that governments will finally take action
Hu, Wray, and Joellen Russell, a member the nonpartisan Science MomsA professor in the geosciences department at the University of Arizona, he believes there is much to be optimistic about.
Russell, who has a 11-year-old daughter and a 14 year-old son, said, “We can’t solve all problems overnight, but it is possible to make serious changes and avert climate change.”
She stated, “I am inspired by the parents and students I speak to every day and have faith that we will take actions to provide future generations with safe and healthy planets.”
Russell admitted that she is scared but she said she has always wanted to have her own children and grandchildren.
“When — and it is when, not if — our governments get serious about reducing emissions, it won’t be a thousand years before the planet starts healing — it can happen in our children’s lifetimes and their children’s lifetimes,” Russell said.
Check out the original article Insider
