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Re:Large percentage fear having children because of climate ... by asah on Monday October 11, 2021 @09:53AM (#28828306)
Fewer people = less impact.

Adverse climate change is largely driven by man-made effects, and those effects are largely scaled to the number of people.

Re:Large percentage fear having children because of climate ... by WithinReason on Monday October 11, 2021 @09:59AM (#28828366)
The capacity to solve climate change is scaled by the number of people solving it.
Re:Large percentage fear having children because of climate ... by 1_player on Monday October 11, 2021 @10:04AM (#28828412)
Having a child doesn't mean they'll eventually go on working to solve climate change. If they don't, they'll actually make it (infinitesimally) worse by increasing resource consumption and carbon in the atmosphere.

For all I know, my spawn might decide to work for Exxon Mobil.

Re:Large percentage fear having children because of climate ... by xyzzy123 on Monday October 11, 2021 @10:21AM (#28828632)
I suppose it depends on your mental model for how climate change will be solved.

If you believe that a small number of people will have an outsized impact, each person is a "lottery ticket".

If you believe in incremental progress then adding more people is likely to be "slightly positive".

If you believe that little progress will be made on per capita emissions (or that they may even grow) then each additional person is a carbon burden.

Re:Large percentage fear having children because of climate ... by 1_player on Monday October 11, 2021 @10:38AM (#28828816)
It's not a matter of "belief".

If a new person on the planet is born and goes their whole life without contributing to the cause and carrying on the current status quo of resource exploitation and fossil fuel usage, they will have made the crisis worse.

Re:Large percentage fear having children because of climate ... by xyzzy123 on Monday October 11, 2021 @11:09AM (#28829202)
That is true if you believe that humanity will not meet climate goals over the next century.

On the other hand, if within a generation or two each person is net carbon negative (through labour, taxes, innovation or other support towards climate efforts) then children born today will be helping to mitigate the crisis.

This is the "incremental" scenario. The plausibility of this depends on how you think system change happens and your assessment of what is possible or likely.

Re:Large percentage fear having children because of climate ... by WithinReason on Monday October 11, 2021 @10:10AM (#28828473)
The number of people solving a problem scales with the number of people available to solve it.

Besides, if it's feasible to earn enough money to offset your own carbon footprint (e.g. by paying for carbon capture), it's possible to scale the solution by having more children who then offset their own carbon cost and more.

Re:Large percentage fear having children because of climate ... by wnkrshm on Monday October 11, 2021 @10:39AM (#28828831)
Yeah but it scales badly, especially with all the people not solving it contributing to the problem.
Re:Large percentage fear having children because of climate ... by 1_player on Monday October 11, 2021 @10:40AM (#28828842)
> The number of people solving a problem scales with the number of people available to solve it.

The climate crisis and carbon in the atmosphere scales with the number of people available to solve it, as well.

Re:Large percentage fear having children because of climate ... by WithinReason on Monday October 11, 2021 @10:52AM (#28828966)
You're just repeating the comment I responded to
Re:Large percentage fear having children because of climate ... by 1_player on Monday October 11, 2021 @10:11AM (#28828484)
Reproducing is our biological imperative, but I am still surprised how blasphemous is to people to mention having fewer children. It's a taboo and people hate you for it just for mentioning it.

There's much better ways of solving climate change, but fewer people on planet Earth would help.

Re:Large percentage fear having children because of climate ... by joeberon on Monday October 11, 2021 @10:42AM (#28828865)
I'm not sure if it really is a biological imperative. Sex is, but reproduction doesn't seem to be. Lots of people in Japan seem to not care for example. I also, personally, am missing that biological imperative, maybe that is just me though, but there is no part of me that thinks: "I want a baby".
Re:Large percentage fear having children because of climate ... by 1_player on Monday October 11, 2021 @12:15PM (#28829940)
I meant biological imperative, not personal choice. The common thread between us and an amoeba. Reproduction is one of the primary characteristics of living organisms.

But this is too OT and I'm sure someone will find a way to argue on this point as well.

Re:Large percentage fear having children because of climate ... by joeberon on Monday October 11, 2021 @12:21PM (#28829995)
No, that's what I said, I'm not totally convinced that reproduction is a biological imperative. I think _being horny_ is, but I think that actually having children is not.
Re:Large percentage fear having children because of climate ... by pythonlion on Monday October 11, 2021 @10:05AM (#28828418)
or shrink people with genetic mutation
Re:Large percentage fear having children because of climate ... by WithinReason on Monday October 11, 2021 @10:11AM (#28828482)
There's actually a movie about the idea:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1389072/

Re:Large percentage fear having children because of climate ... by xyzzy123 on Monday October 11, 2021 @10:26AM (#28828672)
Kurt Vonnegut also explores this in "slapstick"
Re:Large percentage fear having children because of climate ... by me_me_me on Monday October 11, 2021 @09:58AM (#28828360)
Wow I think you just solve the global warming!

We will just have to kill ourselves, can you pick a date?

Re:Large percentage fear having children because of climate ... by beardyw on Monday October 11, 2021 @11:19AM (#28829318)
I have to admit that it seems that a perfect world is probably a world without people in it. Though what does the word 'perfect' mean when there is no one to use it? [My existential thought for the day].