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Autumn Tate

Marlena Stanford

English 0990

27th October 2019

Concerns on procreation

Author Gracy Olmstead brought up a concerning issue with her article called, “Don’t Let Climate

Change Stop You from Becoming a Parent.” She is concerned that people are making the choice to not

have children based on the strain that the children could cause on the environment. The author states

that, “the millennial generation worry that bringing a child into the world might, in its effects serve as a

choice for more consumption, waste and damage on the plant.” She fears that people are being

dissuaded from having children to help with climate change. Olmstead believes that it is important to

stand for the idea of having children. She quotes Matthew Lee Anderson who stated that, “parents have

an unconditional responsibility to cherish their children.” He stressed that parents and children are

obligated to one another.

I, myself, have been worried about the impact that my children will have on this world. I never

imagined the idea that they may not have a great change in the environment due to me. Partly, I blame

this on my upbringing. Which then powers the concerns of Elizabeth Warren, whom Olmstead also

mentions the point of view of. Elizabeth Warren brings attention that most of the consumption on the

plant comes from construction and large companies that impact the plant more than children do. The

author also states that children should be taught to love the plant and to help impact it to make a better

world. She believes that this is the process of “world-wide healing”.

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Olmstead then points toward Christianity which has helped her point her daughters on the path

that they are part of a precious creation along with the plant. She believes that everyone is a steward

toward guiding children to help learn to love the plant to help regenerate the population. This can be

viewed like an analysis that what our children needs is our guidance towards what to do. Olmstead

teaches her children on what to do to help the plant and how to make a positive impact on the

environment.

This brings great points to mind that what we can teach our children will also help the planet

and environment. As a parent, from Olmstead’s view, the main goal should be to raise those who will

make the planet better and not worse. Children can help come up with new ideas that can help our

world be greener and safer for our environment with innovation. I was never raised to think about the

environment and what I could be doing to improve it, which is something that everyone should

consider. My parents never sought out a discussion, about the environment, with me. Which challenges

the idea of what information is available to help parents learn to be environmentally considerate to pass

the knowledge onto their children. When I was young, I barely remember learning that trees help the

environment and clean the air to create oxygen for us to breathe. All the knowledge I learned was from

school. All of which is something to consider for Olmstead’s concerns.

During research I was able to find statistics that help support Olmstead’s statement of

millennials being concerned about having children based on the environment. Business insider notes in

their article, “More than a third of millennials share Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's worry about having

kids while the threat of climate change looms,” that 38 percent of millennials are stating the climate

change should be a factor in having children. The survey was conducted by Insiders Survey Monkey poll.

What I feel is lacking from the poll is it does not state whether or not based off climate change if they

will have children. Additionally, there is a risk that the survey could be biased on results. Which is

Olmstead’s main concern, that people will not have children due to the impact on the environment.
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However, the survey does help to solidify that millennials are considering the impact of children on the

plant before the choice of precreation is made.

There are also other concerns that we as a country are to lazy to care about the environment.

All these ideas could play into the impact of our plant. But the many concerns need a plan. Hopefully,

over time, we as a country will be more involved and educated on the positive impact we can make on

the plant to not be overly concerned with the negative impact of having children.

Work Cited