少生娃可有效降低碳排
Childbirth harms the planet By not having a child, the carbon footprint of an individual living in a developed country would be reduced on average by an extra 58.6 tons of carbon dioxide every year, based on current emission rates. This is the biggest impact of all possible actions you could take to help the environment. A team from Sweden's Lund University came to this conclusion after conducting an analysis of the things individuals can do to produce less greenhouse gases. Lead author Seth Wynes - who does not have any children - said: "We found there are four actions that could result in substantial decreases in an individual's carbon footprint: Eating a plant-based diet, avoiding air travel, living car-free, and having smaller families." The impact of having a child is calculated by factoring in not only the extra impact of the child, but also that of their potential future descendants. The researchers said: "Persuading a US family to have one less child would provide the same level of emissions reductions as persuading 684 teenagers who do not recycle, to recycle comprehensively for the rest of their lives." |