The Sunday Sidebar…
Welcome to The Sunday Sidebar where some of the more bizarre and entertaining stories found through the week are highlighted for your reading pleasure. So grab a coffee, sit back, and read away…
Babies not Eco-Friendly ?
Seems that some people think that babies are simply not eco-friendly and need to either be banned or taxed.
Meet the women who have decided to ’save the planet’ by not having babies. According to one of them ‘Having children is selfish. It’s all about maintaining your genetic line at the expense of the planet.’ Me thinks that maybe the child has had a lucky escape. (Meet the woman who won’t have babies - because they’re not eco-friendly)
A medical expert in Australia, while not saying ’stop having babies’, wants all families with more than two childern to be taxed. How much? He suggests a baby tax to cover the costs of enough trees to offset the carbon emissions that the child will generate over their lifetime. (Baby tax needed to save planet)
Bizarre but True
Remember The Tree Man from Indonesia..
Appears he’s not the only one causing medical intrigue.
There’s a man in China who noticed that his ‘…underwear and bed sheets were all green, and even the water in the shower.’ Blood tests at the local hospital have not yet revealed the cause. Maybe he’s just a ‘greenie’ at heart. (Doctors Baffled by Green Sweat)
And what about this man who nearly drank himself to death. He arrived at a European airport with a liter of vodka in his carry-on bag. When told he couldn’t take it onto the plane, he promptly downed the lot. Needless to say, he never got off the ground. (Dying for a Drink)
Finally
For those who missed it, ice swimming season has already started in Russia. While not so popular in the States, ice swimming is seen by many as a way of improving circulation, relieving symptoms of arthritis, and helping build up the immune system. Don’t know about that, but sure got a good laugh watching a group of Russian men ice swimming in tutus…
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POSTED IN: Event, Extreme, Green, Humor, Los Linky Links, Misc., Morning News, Morning News Fix, Oddities, Swim, The Sunday Sidebar, Video
4 opinions for The Sunday Sidebar…
L
Dec 16, 2007 at 5:25 pm
How is not wanting to have children bizarre? I’m 18 and I’ve made a vow to myself to never have any children. There are just too many children on this planet, and it IS selfish.
Liz
Dec 16, 2007 at 8:49 pm
Hi L, glad you stopped by. It’s a good question - and one that each individual has to decide for themselves.
I find it interesting, as opposed to bizarre, that some women are deciding not to have children based on environmental concerns. Most studies and articles I have read before have never alluded to this way of thinking.
Do I agree or disagree? I honestly have no strong feelings either way, except to say that I do admire people with strong convictions who act on them.
The whole idea of the Sunday Sidebar is to highlight interesting articles and posts I’ve run across and get some dialogue going on them. And you have started the dialogue…thanks.
Happy Sunday
Sarah
Dec 19, 2007 at 1:39 pm
Hey L,
I agree with you, I don’t really think it’s bizarre at all to make the decision not to have children for the sake of the planet. We are living in a seriously overpopulated planet, although it’s not so visible here in North America.
Many countries already have taxes or laws against families having more than 2 children. This has historically led to some other bad things happening with one of those two children isn’t ‘desirable’. That part is unfortunate, but so is entire countries starving because there isn’t enough food to go around to all of the people.
Perhaps we are not overpopulated in the US and Canada, but these women are thinking past their neighborhood and country, and thinking globally.
Liz
Dec 21, 2007 at 4:41 am
Hey Sarah, thanks for stopping in and commenting.
As I said before, I never thought it was bizarre that some women are deciding not to have children as they think it’s not good for the environment. My intrigue and interest was more in that I had never heard of this as reason not to have child. It would be interesting to discover how prevalent this thought pattern…
As for the countries that tax or have laws against families having more than two children, I was always under the impression that that was more economic rather than an environmental concern from a government stand point.
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