I know this is yet another brain dump from the over-thinking and over-worrying head of mine. It will probably not change anything in the world in my lifetime. But it sure feels good to put down the weight of thoughts I have been carrying for a while. And for sake of today’s readers with acute attention deficitness, I will make it short and to the point.

Our planet is in serious danger from the exploding low-quality human population. As a photographer, nature lover and traveler it is my natural concern to conserve and protect the beauty of our place in the universe. In short, I dream of a planet with a sustainable population of high quality and efficient humans. And yeah, where common sense is MANDATORY !

So,

to all the parents-to-be from my generation, consider having a kid if and only if you can devote 100% of your energy in raising a well balanced, smart, energetic, not-spoilt-rotten human being. If you can’t, then for the love of our dear planet, please DON’T. No matter what your parents want, or your breeding siblings and close friends want. Just don’t do it !

Look at the sheer population around you. Look at the mind numbing crowds in countries like India. Most people breed because either it is “going with the flow” or simply because it takes no brainpower of skill at all. I bet for most it is nothing but parental and societal pressures. For the poor, it is an extra hand for free. But then what happens ? If not raised well, it is no good. Not smart ? No good. Not willing to work hard ? No good either. An entire generation of humans raised in a half baked way is nothing but waste to the society and the human race in general.

So how do we stop that ? No easy way but I can only imagine two broad methods.

1. The moral way – consider having kids as the most important choice in life. Yes, a damn choice and nothing else. No it-is-my-destiny bullshit. No because-we-are-married-couple bullshit. No God’s wish bullshit either. Either you dedicate 100% effort on making a worthy human as your replacement, or you just enjoy your abundant free time in life with or without a partner. Take this decision sooner than later in life. The late you are, the higher chances of producing “low quality” offsprings. That is just how biology works.

2. The government/systemic way – Make it extremely easy (affordable or even free) to get an abortion, or standard surgical procedures done to prevent future offsprings. Also, discourage more offsprings beyond a threshold by imposing higher taxes and other financial stress for couples.

Of course the long term gain comes with short term costs. Not easy for a government to take the step #2 because it does not help many corporations who make profit off the younger demographics, among a multitude of other reasons.

Those who become parents will of course say it is all worth the freedom, money, time and energy. I guess that is the only thing to say because you can’t regret after the fact, right ? On the other hand, not having to sacrifice two decades (or more) worth of personal time is something worth considering, too. In my opinion these are both comparable choices, at least as long as new humans are born as a result of a conscious decision, and only to be raised to mature, sensible adults.

Comments are welcome !

Update: Here is a fantastic perspective shared by a friend: http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/9grca/the_planet_is_fine_the_people_are_fucked_pic/

Ok, so according to it, I am being a dork for putting a cliche subject. But what I actually wanted to convey is nothing but the convenience of the future generation who will be raised with care and genuine effort. Maybe this article is right, nothing will happen to the planet eventually. Our lives are after all just a flash in the eternity of time.

Update: Great discussion here: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/08/best-way-you-can-go-green-have-fewer-children.php

Update: Some related links worth reading:
Say it loud: I’m childfree and proud
Without kids… and loving it – Opinion – theage.com.au
Child-free – and lovin’ it
Childfree Clique: Without Childfreedom, My Good Life Turns To Shit
JournalLive – News – News Archive – ‘I’m child-free and loving it!’
The plus side of being childfree
BBC NEWS | Europe | The rise of the ‘childfree’
This Childcentric World

A reader’s comment in this aggregated article:

I have always believed that NO ONE should ever have a child unless they were prepared to devote 24/7 to him/her. Sometimes that is a necessity, if the child has health problems, for example. Parenthood is a sacred lifetime commitment. Too many people have children just as an accessory to their lifestyle. There is no shame in not having children. The shame is in having children and not being a good parent.