Is it still ok to have kids in face of climate change? • Hacker News Board

Re: Is it still ok to have kids in face of climate change?

#21

Post by natalyarostova » Mon, Feb 25, 2019, 4:56 PM UTC

meepl wrote: post #15

patatino wrote: post #9

I have a 4 month old daughter and looking a the history I‘m pretty glad she is born today and not 50 or 100 years ago.

Well, that sentiment entirely misses the point of all of this!

I'm not so sure that it does. I would say the expected cost of climate change to the lives of children born today is still far far less then the expected cost in the past due to disease, war, famine (etc).

So the poster above is noting that if people were, or we would have, been okay with having kids in the past, then we still should today.

Re: Is it still ok to have kids in face of climate change?

#22

Post by 12321r333 » Mon, Feb 25, 2019, 4:56 PM UTC

I think it should be a factor in someones decision process, absolutely.

It is absolutely not ok to mindlessly have children.

Economics need to change, "more" is actually "less" and we will start to see a more extreme shift in the next 5 years.

Re: Is it still ok to have kids in face of climate change?

#23

Post by krupan » Mon, Feb 25, 2019, 4:56 PM UTC

It's pretty hard to predict exactly what's going to happen to society in the face of climate change. We know 100% that society will collapse if we stop having kids.

Re: Is it still ok to have kids in face of climate change?

#24

Post by crobertsbmw » Mon, Feb 25, 2019, 4:57 PM UTC

I’ve always believed that if you’re a smart, educated, motivated person (if your reading this than I’m assuming you are one) that probably the best thing you can do for the world is to have kids. Those kids will likely contribute to the world in all sorts of ways that we can’t imagine.

Re: Is it still ok to have kids in face of climate change?

#25

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Feb 25, 2019, 4:58 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Is it still ok to have kids in face of climate change?

#26

Post by legohead » Mon, Feb 25, 2019, 4:58 PM UTC

Define "ok"

Our planet is just one of many... Technology is advancing at an incredible rate. Who knows where we will be in 50 years.

Re: Is it still ok to have kids in face of climate change?

#27

Post by squish78 » Mon, Feb 25, 2019, 4:58 PM UTC

The alternative being what?

Re: Is it still ok to have kids in face of climate change?

#28

Post by ataturk » Mon, Feb 25, 2019, 4:58 PM UTC

Newsweek is junk.

Re: Is it still ok to have kids in face of climate change?

#29

Post by NLips » Mon, Feb 25, 2019, 4:58 PM UTC

natalyarostova wrote: post #21

meepl wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, that sentiment entirely misses the point of all of this!

I'm not so sure that it does. I would say the expected cost of climate change to the lives of children born today is still far far less then the expected cost in the past due to disease, war, famine (etc). So the poster above is noting that if people were, or we would have, been okay with having kids in the past, then we still should today.

The question is phrased ambiguously, but the article makes it clearer that what is meant is:

"Is it still OK _for the planet_ to have kids...", not "Is it still OK _for the kids_ to have kids..."

EDIT: actually, I'm not sure which one of those the representative was getting at.

Re: Is it still ok to have kids in face of climate change?

#30

Post by lqet » Mon, Feb 25, 2019, 4:59 PM UTC

My ancestors thought it was okay to have kids during times in which many scholars where certain the apocalypse was due in the next 25 years, during periods in which the plague killed more than half of the population, during the 30 years war and in a time when there was a realistic chance of nuclear annihilation in the next 10 years.

I am glad they did.