12/14/09

This Week in Copenhagen

I’m an only child. And just so ya know, I’m not a spoiled brat and I’m fully aware that the sun does not rise on my left shoulder and set on my right. I’m also an only child who wants a lot of kids. I’ll be the mom in the 15-passenger van barreling down the street in about 20 years.

At least, that’s what I want. But if the people at Copenhagen have their way, I won’t be able to do it. Some leaders at the climate change have discussed adopting China’s one-child policy to reverse the impending doom of overpopulation.

First of all, the idea that the world is overpopulated is a crock. Ever been to Idaho? Montana? Wyoming? Plenty of room there.

In all seriousness: In Western Europe the population rate barely meets replacement. Russia, Spain, and Italy bottom out at less than 1.54 children per couple, and Iceland, Norway, Ireland, and Spain top the list at 2 or over. The overall fertility trend in Europe has steadily declined since 1980. American fertility just meets the 2.1 children required for population replacement, down from nearly 3.75 in 1960. With so many countries hardly even replacing themselves, how can we have an overpopulation crisis?

Finally, Glenn Beck made an excellent point on his show today. Where’s the women’s rights crowd? They’re always telling the government to stay out of their uteruses and give them total reproductive freedom. Isn’t restricting the number of children you can have a pretty significant violation of reproductive freedom? Why haven’t we heard from them yet?

3 comments:

  1. Do you even read the stories that you get upset over? One opinion columnist is hardly "Some Leaders".

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  2. Do you even click on the links in the stories I link to? One opinion columnist isn't "some leaders," but the Chinese delegation to Copenhagen is.

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  3. That's not what your link said. It only talked about one Canadian opinion columnist.

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