Being Childfree is By Far My Greatest Contribution to Reducing My Carbon Footprint

I am happily childfree. It does wonders for a gargantuan reduction of my carbon footprint daily without my having to do anything besides making this emphatic, solid decision.

Was it difficult? Never for me; I just listened to my lack of wanting to be a mother on a mental, emotional, and perhaps even biological level. Or maybe since I was so strongly convicted in my decision, I had overridden what my biology "wanted." Either way, I've never regretted it, and it stays with me in my heart and soul.

Does this mean I'm lonely? Nope, I make wonderful new friends quite easily, especially as an introvert turned ambivert. I've ecstatically found that childfree soulmates do exist (yes, the romantic kind). I also thrive with the family that I already do have. And I enjoy striking up conversations with strangers now and then.

Am I bored or otherwise feeling unfulfilled? Nope. Thankfully, I've got hobbies, interests, and pursuits that create a vision as high as the sky and as wide as the face of Earth. Well... at least it sure feels like it. If you often follow and expand your curiosity with total personal freedom, then you know what I mean.

Being childfree is already such an increasingly common life choice that it no longer needs to be hyphenated to be a real word. This isn't to shame those that do have children or want to have them. Instead, it is to present a valid and viable option for those - like me - that would honestly rather not have children if they are true to themselves, or at least on the fence about it.

According to Environmental Research Letters, having one less child is the equivalent of reducing approximately 60 tons of CO2 equivalents per year, which is more than avoiding intercontinental flights, opting to recycle, upcycling, using green energy, going vegan, driving an energy-efficient car or becoming pedestrian, and other daily things we can do to help in a year, combined. Yes, if I wanted to - if I were an inconsiderate, self-centered individual - I could trash everything I currently own right into the landfills and oceans, eat copious amounts of animal products at a steakhouse for every single meal, regularly drive a gas-guzzling SUV, and fly intercontinental every other weekend, and yet I would still have a smaller carbon footprint than an earth-conscious someone who has just one child, let alone more.

If you are concerned that there have been too many deaths on a statistical level to even consider becoming childfree as a good option; based on what you have read, seen, or heard from reports of current events; then may the following chart appease you. On July 1, 2020, the population was 7,794,798,739 (Worldometers, 2021). Since the global population is increasing every split second, at about 6:28 P.M. EST, on May 18, 2021, it was *drumroll*:

Of course, even while quickly typing just this sentence, it got a few digits higher. Evidently, despite a slower rate of population increase than in previous years, the population is still increasing all the same. Rapidly so. And with it, there is constantly increasing usage of many resources, upping the carbon footprint with each additional person birthed.

The good news is that awareness and a gradual change in the cultures worldwide would mean that more and more people would see the childfree lifestyle as a freedom-based and even generous option since it provides reverberating positive effects on our global environment. This wonderfully benefits animals, vegetation, and other humans alike. Not to mention, there would be far fewer people as unfit parents at the expense of their children since they wouldn't decide to have children based on nothing more than social pressure or poor personal decisions, imagined or otherwise.

If there are any remaining social concerns of being childfree, including familial ones, consider this: Ever since someone told me that "your vibe attracts your tribe," I gradually felt like I belong everywhere I go, in plenty of other ways. Because I do. There are so many facets to me and anyone, with or without having children.

Resources:

Current World Population. (2021, May 18). Worldometers. https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/

Perkins, Sid. (2017, July 11). The best way to reduce your carbon footprint is one the government isn't telling you about. Science Magazine. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/07/best-way-reduce-your-carbon-footprint-one-government-isn-t-telling-you-about