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Earth Mothers and Moms: Mutually Exclusive?

Some eco activists are opting not to recycle their genes

 

Many moms have famously claimed that having children has made them more conscious of their impact on the planet, like Julia Roberts, Cindy Crawford, Soliel Moon-Freye and now Jessica Alba. But the question has been raised as to just how eco it is to even have a child.

Last November, the Daily Mail published an article called, "Meet the women who won't have babies--because they're not eco friendly," featuring a 35-year old woman, Toni Vernelli, who had an abortion then got sterilized at aget 27 to reduce her carbon footprint, with no regrets. Another woman made the choice to not have children for the same reason, which ended several of her relationships, and she's now with a man who's had a vasectomy.

Then in March, Treehugger mused on "Why Eco-Activists Still Have Children." It links to a piece in The Guardian weighing the pros and cons of bringing extra little consumers and potential destryoyers into the world.

Here's another view on it, from the author of Gross National Happiness, which takes a whole different analysis, considering the measured happiness of couples with children vs childless couples, and weighing that against how rewarding it is to have raised someone well in a world that needs more good eggs in it.

 

 Image: Toni Vernelli, from the Daily Mail