The Next Generation #297
By Hank Silverberg
You will notice in the upper right hand corner of this blog the number 297. That's approximately how many blogs I have done in the last few years. It is in fact many more, because I failed to number the first dozen or so I wrote. Of all those, this is the one I find difficult to write.
Regular readers know I have two children and two grandchildren, and as I approach my 7th decade of life I have seriously begun to think about what the world will be like when my six-year-old grandson reaches 70 years of age.
Climate change, dwindling resources, including fossil fuel and water, and the constant inability of the human race to live in peace among nations all clog my mind about the future.
The Baby Boomer generation of the 50's and 60's in the last century grew up with these same worries, but in the end we went to school, got jobs and had children. As we raised those kids we became more and more concerned about what lay ahead, but we did it because that is what people do, produce a new generation.
But I was not surprised to read this week that Millenials and Gen Z around the world are choosing in record numbers not to have children.
Statistics they cited from the Pew Research Center by the American Psychological Association indicate 30% of 18 to 34-year-olds without kids already, say they aren't sure they want any. and 18% have already made the decision to skip offspring. and that is an increase since 2021. If you look at the statistics more carefully. it is women more than men who are less likely to want children.
What's happening? According to the APA, it's a combination of things. There are more childhood trauma and mental illness issues. But financial challenges, political and environmental fears, paltry childcare options, parental leave policies and attacks on reproductive freedom are enhancing the worry about being a parent.
Sure, that was all present in the Boomer generation too, but the downturn is a global trend.
The APA article says it this way:
"There are myriad reasons people are having fewer children. For one, traditional markers of adulthood, like moving out of your parents’ house and getting married, are hitting later, and having kids is following suit. That’s largely due to financial realities like skyrocketing mortgage rates and the loss of many middle-class jobs, which make self-sufficiency a higher bar to reach."
One study says 39% of young people are reluctant to have children because of climate change fears. And that fear is real.
A 2020 analysis of 195 countries found the average number of kids a woman had dropped from 4.7 in 1950 to 2.4 in 2017. The study's author predicted that will be 1.7 in the United States by 2100.
The implications here are dramatic. Fewer people means fewer people to do the work that needs to be done. Fewer workers means fewer people to pay taxes into funds like Social Security that help their parents and grandparents survive on a day-to-day basis.
The Republicans think they have an answer to this--fewer abortions means more people. But the APA article says the lack of choice on reproductive rights for young women actually adds to the stress and reduces their desire to have children at all.
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2024/07/fewer-children
People in their waning years always worry a bit about what we will leave behind. Over the next decade or so, while we are still here and still active, we need to think again about what we support, who we support, and why. Gen X better be paying attention as well.
News You May Have Missed!
Whale Ho!
The federal government is allocating about $10 million for ropeless fishing gear that will help save the Right whales. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says about $7 million of that will go for the development of ropeless gear by fishing industry members and to assess feedback. Another $3 million will be used for monitoring Right whales and help predict their distribution along the East Coast.
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| (A right whale, breaching, Courtesy NOAA) |
Lobster fishing is done with traps at the ocean bottom that are connected to the surface with a vertical line. Several Right whales, which can weigh up to 140,000 pounds, died last year getting entangled with fishing ropes.
The new technology would allow the lobster fishermen to use such improvements like an inflatable lift bag that brings the trap to the surface without use of a fishing line.
Right whales are approaching extinction with fewer than 70 reproductively active females remaining.
Arctic Meltdown Polluting Water Supply
Melting permafrost in the Arctic is releasing toxic mercury into local water systems that could have a big impact on the food chain in the near future.
Researchers at the University of Southern California say climate change is heating up the Arctic four time faster than the global average, releasing the mercury and threatening the health
https://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/arctic-mercury-assessment-josh-west/ |
| (Yukon river Basin shows accumulation of sediments which harbor the mercury. Photo by Michael P Lamb, courtesy of USC) |
Dumbest Quote of The Week!
I don't usually pick on members of the clergy. People, after all, do have the right to believe what they want. But this one is an exception because it crosses the line into the political sphere. This week's dumbest quote comes from Pastor Joel Webbon, of the Covenant Bible Church in Texas.
"If we had a Christian Nation and women could vote, then within 50 years we will no longer have a Christian Nation."
His rationale?
"I believe that the sword has been given to men. The sword is—without being crude, I think this is a fact—it is a phallus. It is assigned by God to men. Women are not supposed to be leading the way, they're to be protected."
All this he says, justifies the repeal of the 19th Amendment which granted women the right to vote in 1921.
Well, sorry Pastor. Take women out of the decision making equation and this country would fail quickly.
(Your Suggestions and comments are welcome)
My recent book "The Campaign" can be purchased at the links below. Or you can buy a copy by emailing me at:
HankSilverberg@gmail.com for instructions on how to get a copy at a reduced price and with my signature)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084Q7K6M5/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-campaign-hank-silverberg/1126429796
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