<![CDATA[Grist - Comment Feed for A handy health checklist for pregnancy]]> Grist Comment Feed en Comment #1 by Jeff Lawrence http://www.grist.org/article/pregnancy/ Tue, 18 Sep 2007 04:37:42 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/pregnancy/1 Pregnancy

The global human population has doubled in the last 55 years  - less than the average life-span of a single individual.  It threatens to double again in an even shorter future period, exacerbating the problems of vanishing natural resources, biospherical pollution, wildlife genocide and global warming.  Why don't our environmentalist advocates like GRIST, the SIERRA CLUB, GREENPEACE and the WORLD WILDLIFE FUND say something? Do something?  All we ever discuss is the SYMPTOMS!  Overpopulation is the main PROBLEM common to all of the symptoms!

]]> Pregnancy

The global human population has doubled in the last 55 years  - less than the average life-span of a single individual.  It threatens to double again in an even shorter future period, exacerbating the problems of vanishing natural resources, biospherical pollution, wildlife genocide and global warming.  Why don't our environmentalist advocates like GRIST, the SIERRA CLUB, GREENPEACE and the WORLD WILDLIFE FUND say something? Do something?  All we ever discuss is the SYMPTOMS!  Overpopulation is the main PROBLEM common to all of the symptoms!

]]> Comment #2 by PolluteLessDotCom http://www.grist.org/article/pregnancy/ Wed, 19 Sep 2007 06:13:25 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/pregnancy/2 Human Nature

I took me a while, but I have decided to accept that  it may not be rational but is surely natural to want to have children. It is a problem however and anyone who chooses to not have children should feel good knowing that they will have less impact on the environment. Since it is so natural to have children, it is also rather unpopular to speak up against this as an organization that needs the support of many people.

It is like saying that people who want kids cannot be "real" environmentalists and we have seen where that leads ( see: PETA against meat-consumption). Since having kids (or even adopting and bringing them to North America) increases your carbon footprint and pollution levels so much in relation to the rest of the world, there is some truth to this. Nevertheless, people will have kids just like they will eat meat. That won't change. Especially since people have more children in times of crisis. The problem is not the fact, the problem is the amount/number. You cannot tell people to not have kids. This right is a human right in my opinion.

As an organization you dig your own grave if you say this too loud. Imagine the storm of offended  mothers, fathers, and grandparents if there was a headline like: "Sierra Club Says 'Having Children Causes Climate Change, Starvation, and Extinction'". As individuals, we can point out the problems and consequences with having children, however each person need to decide what they want or don't want to do. This is something that cannot and should not be regulated, limited, or even discouraged by a government or organization. Education is the key to convincing people that maybe we have enough humans now.

Karsten
http://www.polluteless.com

]]> Human Nature

I took me a while, but I have decided to accept that  it may not be rational but is surely natural to want to have children. It is a problem however and anyone who chooses to not have children should feel good knowing that they will have less impact on the environment. Since it is so natural to have children, it is also rather unpopular to speak up against this as an organization that needs the support of many people.

It is like saying that people who want kids cannot be "real" environmentalists and we have seen where that leads ( see: PETA against meat-consumption). Since having kids (or even adopting and bringing them to North America) increases your carbon footprint and pollution levels so much in relation to the rest of the world, there is some truth to this. Nevertheless, people will have kids just like they will eat meat. That won't change. Especially since people have more children in times of crisis. The problem is not the fact, the problem is the amount/number. You cannot tell people to not have kids. This right is a human right in my opinion.

As an organization you dig your own grave if you say this too loud. Imagine the storm of offended  mothers, fathers, and grandparents if there was a headline like: "Sierra Club Says 'Having Children Causes Climate Change, Starvation, and Extinction'". As individuals, we can point out the problems and consequences with having children, however each person need to decide what they want or don't want to do. This is something that cannot and should not be regulated, limited, or even discouraged by a government or organization. Education is the key to convincing people that maybe we have enough humans now.

Karsten
http://www.polluteless.com

]]> Comment #3 by AllisonERF http://www.grist.org/article/pregnancy/ Fri, 21 Sep 2007 05:10:39 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/pregnancy/3 Pregnancy, Human Nature, Tragedy of the Commons

One point that hasn't been raised here is that if people of our ilk - people who think and care about such environmental and social issues - stop having babies in order to lessen their negative impacts on the world, then only the people who don't share these values will be reproducing. And they, most likely, will raise kids who don't care about environmental and social responsibility. And it will simply become a terrible cycle of people who don't care generating more people who don't care, and so on. Personally, I hope to raise a modest number of socially and environmentally responsible children who will grow up to do enough good in the world to more than offset the negative impacts of simply being alive.

]]> Pregnancy, Human Nature, Tragedy of the Commons

One point that hasn't been raised here is that if people of our ilk - people who think and care about such environmental and social issues - stop having babies in order to lessen their negative impacts on the world, then only the people who don't share these values will be reproducing. And they, most likely, will raise kids who don't care about environmental and social responsibility. And it will simply become a terrible cycle of people who don't care generating more people who don't care, and so on. Personally, I hope to raise a modest number of socially and environmentally responsible children who will grow up to do enough good in the world to more than offset the negative impacts of simply being alive.

]]> Comment #4 by guenthej http://www.grist.org/article/pregnancy/ Sat, 22 Sep 2007 11:24:36 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/pregnancy/4 Shrimp and other seafood

Not all shrimp are created equal (or harvested with with equal environmental care).  In fact, there are environmental problems with how most shrimp are caught or farmed.

In section 6, Shun mercury, Amy mentions shrimp, salmon, pollock, and catfish as healthy seafoods to eat, but depending on where you live, there may be several different kinds of these fish available.

Check out the Monterrey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program for information on seafood sustainability.  Printable pocket guides are also available to help you navigate restaurant menus and fish markets.

Enjoy!

]]> Shrimp and other seafood

Not all shrimp are created equal (or harvested with with equal environmental care).  In fact, there are environmental problems with how most shrimp are caught or farmed.

In section 6, Shun mercury, Amy mentions shrimp, salmon, pollock, and catfish as healthy seafoods to eat, but depending on where you live, there may be several different kinds of these fish available.

Check out the Monterrey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program for information on seafood sustainability.  Printable pocket guides are also available to help you navigate restaurant menus and fish markets.

Enjoy!

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