no kids for me!

Cameron Diaz, the super-environmentalist, has come out as a non-breeder, according to Kirsten Dirksen at the Huffington Post. That’s right, she’s not going to have kids. Why? Because one U.S. person is equal to 20 tons of CO2 per year and 24 acres of productive land. And probably a few other reasons as well, but truly, not having kids is an environmental act.

global destruction. because of kids. it's all their fault.

So, considering that the world’s population capacity has been estimated to be at 5 billion and we’re currently at 6.8 billion and rising, and population growth has been shown to add to “water shortages, cropland conversion to non-farm uses, traffic congestion, more garbage, overfishing, crowding in national parks, a growing dependence on imported oil, and other conditions that diminish the quality of our daily lives,” you’d think that we’d thank all the selfless people who choose not to add to the destruction of the world as we know it. No, no we don’t.

We still think that there is something wrong with people that don’t want kids. A recent study showed that childless status could negatively impact the career of a childless woman, because they’re seen as lacking “essential humanity.” WTF?

the childless. obviously.

Not to mention, there are plenty of reasons not to have kids besides, y’know, saving the world. Adults who have children are more at risk for depression, even after their kids move out. Some adults just don’t want kids. And, all together now, women who don’t have kids aren’t freaks and aren’t inhuman. Women are not only as good as their maternal inclinations.

The only thing that this article didn’t mention was the option of adoption. As far as the environmental impact goes, well the kids are already here, and they need love and a family just as much as anybody else. I think the argument that the kid needs to “be your own” for you to love them is complete crap, to be perfectly honest.

I honestly don’t know whether I’m going to have kids or not. I think it’s a decision that people don’t really think about enough. I always figured that when I reached a certain age I would just want kids and then I’d have them, because that seems to be how it goes. Now I’m at least going to really consider having kids, knowing that just because I’m a woman does not mean I have to have them, and that there are a lot of positive aspects of being non-breeder.