Starshine Roshell’s February 28 column was a nice try at a humorous take on a concept she obviously cannot, deep down, comprehend. What, not like/want children?! I would propose a minor edit to her reference to childless adults being asked “to explain why they’re not helping to populate this poor, desolate planet.” How about “not helping to overpopulate” the planet?
The Los Angeles Times on March 2 ran an item on a poll about moral issues and population growth. The main issue raised was the crowding out of other species: “Two-thirds in poll say humans’ number are driving the extinction of other species.” The article went on to say, almost as an afterthought, “The world’s population is projected to reach 10 billion by the end of the century.”
As a child-free adult male I feel I have done my bit for zero population growth. (Remember that?) Not to mention helping to maintain a civilized atmosphere in restaurants. If asked to explain, I might say I am not so much against children as I am for the survival of species’ diversity. Those non-human species that have so far managed to hang on, at any rate.