my population impact

This is a long overdue post. Until now I have rarely spoken about my decision to have children or the fact that I have 5 children. I have received email questions about my decision, comments on posts, and even some angry emails!

As you could guess from what I mentioned before, I was previously married and had children. I am remarried and have had two children with my spouse. My "greening" started less than a year ago. I joined the compact in April 2006 and was later "awakened" to the impact that we have on the earth's resources. I was, however, already pregnant with my 5th child. My decision to have children came after my learning about human impact on the earth.

A friend has one child. This child is the little prince. He gets anything and everything that he wants. This little emperor syndrome may have a greater negative impact on our earth than families with more children. I agree that in many cases having fewer children is better. One child who strives to own everything can be a greater detriment than a few who know how to share and reuse. Of course, this behavior is not the fault of the child, but of those who give children everything they want and desire. The Western lifestyle is extremely damaging in itself.

Due to the fact that I have added to the population of the earth, I have made the conscious decision to modify our lifestyle to lessen our family impact. I attempt to teach and show my children a responsible way to live, to use less, leave less behind, and share more. I also try to share what I have learned with others. Sometimes people may not agree with what I try to do or how I do it, but I hope to be positive for those of us who are trying to change. I think it would be more hypocritical of me to not attempt to lessen our family impact. If I drove an SUV, I could exchange it for a vehicle that uses less gas. However, I can't exchange my 5 children for 1 or exchange a child for another who uses less water, but I can work to lessen the material goods that they consume.

Personally, I have become more passionate about human impact on the planet because of my children. I view how each of my personal decisions will impact my children (and their children). I don't know if I would have done so previously.