Could Too Many Children End Humankind?
- Details
- Parent Category: Advanced News Lessons
- Category: Environment Lesons
- Written by Chris Cotter
What if it came to the point where a second child in every household tipped the scales irreparably towards environmental apocalypse? After all, despite treaties, bans, conferences, and Nobel winning former Vice Presidents, environmental degradation continues to seriously hamper humankind's future survival.
America, for example, consumes huge amounts of resources, arguably inefficiently. The ecological footprint of the US is twenty-four acres. If everyone on Earth lived like Americans, then it would take 5.5 planets to sustain our consumption of resources. China consumes far less than America, yet they are a major polluter. And although European countries pollute less and maintain smaller ecological footprints, they also pay poorer, less developed countries in a pollution barter. In other words, Europe pays some countries to pollute less so that Europeans can pollute more.
Let's return to the original question: What if a second child brought about extinction? There are some organizations who surprisingly favor the end of humankind, as they advocate voluntary human extinction through a halt on reproduction. Others look at the numbers, and suggest that two children per family wouldn't ever tip the balance. They suggest that the birthrate of developed nations, by and large the planet's greatest polluters, has actually dropped. Population increases there now come primarily from immigrants. As a result, most nations will eventually achieve an equilibrium, then pollute less and less as green technologies also come on line. This will stave off the end.
In the end, the question doesn't really allow a black-and-white analysis. It's more a matter of raising an altruistic and responsible child. After all, what if the second child became a champion of the environment, or developed a clean energy source?
Preview some of the lesson material:
Rank It!: Which of disasters will likely end the human race? Rank them in order, and support your decisions!
- pollution and global warming
- war
- disease
- not enough food and water
- an alien invasion
Fill in the Blanks: Fill in the blank with the correct word.
- Could a second child in every household tip the scales ( ) towards environmental apocalypse?
- Despite treaties, bans, and conferences, environmental ( ) continues.
- A damaged environment continues to seriously ( ) humankind's future survival.
- If everyone on Earth lived like Americans, then it would take 5.5 planets to ( ) us.
- Europe pays poorer, less developed countries in a pollution ( ).
- There are some organizations who surprisingly ( ) voluntary human extinction.
- Most nations will eventually achieve an ( ) in terms of population.
- The countries will pollute less and less as green technologies ( ).
- This will ( ) the end.
- It's a matter of raising an ( ) and responsible child.
post-Comprehension: Talk about the following questions in pairs/groups. Remember to support your answers!
- Do you think humankind will become extinct? Why/not?
- What is the birthrate of your country? If you don't know, is the population increase or decreasing?
- What's your opinion on pollution and global warming? Give as much detail as possible.
- How responsible are your when it comes to maintaining a low ecological footprint?
- Argue your value to the human race. In other words, what do you do that benefits humankind?
Google Search: Type "ecological footprint" into Google. Look at the websites, and/or read additional articles on this topic. Discuss or write an essay about your findings.