On the one hand I can totally relate, agriculture (not just ranchers but crop agriculture as well) and environmental well-being are often at odds with each other. However, I can understand where ranchers and farmers are coming from as well, as ranching is their livelihood and a serious setback like …

[image] sethshively: I personally do believe having kids and raising them up right is an objectively good thing Everyone has a different idea of what “raising them up right” entails. And for some of us, the very expression is borderline triggering because it brings to mind adults with rigid i…

[image] jasonhernandez74: And I disagree that this is diverging from the topic because the values that people hold – and instill in their children – directly affect the environment. Is it appropriate to discuss that on the iNat forum, though?

[image] jasonhernandez74: I think it is an objectively good thing for people to have enough self-awareness to know whether they are suited to parenthood, rather than succumb to social expectations. Just to make myself clear, I am in no way implying everyone is morally obligated to have kids. …

[image] sethshively: recent societal push to paint having kids in a negative light is quite harmful Maybe we are exposed to different parts of society, but this is definitely not the majority opinion I am receiving. It feels like you are trying to find an enemy for your opinion to be more val…

Maybe “push” was the wrong word to use, and this sentiment may well not be held by the majority, but there does seem, at least to me, to be a fairly pervasive idea in modern society that children are a liability and a burden to one’s own personal enjoyment, or seen as a liability to the planet (whic…

[image] sethshively: declining birth rates in Western lifestyles. Better education of women. Better health and healthcare ( we eat our vitimultimins and don’t starve) Diet for the planet . Given the large footprint of a ‘comfortable Western lifestyle’ - fewer children equals a smaller enviro…

Every country on Earth has declining birth rates.

[image] raymie: Every country on Earth has declining birth rates Unless you include that country called Africa (also parts of Asia, South and Central America) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_fertility_rate

Every country has declining birth rates. Not all countries have a birth rate below the replacement rate, but all have declining birth rates.

Environmental Impacts of Western Countries and Lifestyle

Nature Talk

papernautilus April 18, 2025, 1:48am 55

I haven’t noticed any societal push to avoid having children, but I’ve definitely noticed a pervasive idea based on a widely popular book of mythology that enjoins us to propagate early and often.

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Environmental Impacts of Western Countries and Lifestyle

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