Impact of having kids vs. adoption
December 1, 2011 10:58 PM   Subscribe

I vaguely remember reading an argument that in some situations, giving birth to a kid or two rather than adopting is not particularly worse (perhaps environmentally, or in terms of effects on population growth, or resource consumption, or something along those lines--the big picture/the global future.) Yes, I realize this sounds counterintuitive, but can anyone point me to such an argument?

Other things:

-I think the scenario presented assumed residents of the US or another industrialized country.
-It's possible I'm remembering this wrong and it's more about adopting (infants) not being that awesome in general, or about having a kid not being that bad.
-I'm not sure where I encountered this. It might have been on Metafilter, or it might have been elsewhere, and I'm open to anything about this topic, even if it's not what I remember reading (hence posting here instead of on MetaTalk.)
-This is theoretical, I am not looking for help making a personal decision here.
posted by needs more cowbell to Grab Bag (6 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
Maybe this? toward the end. Reviews the critics of the environmentalists who promote no/fewer children. Doesn't make the argument you suggest but might give you ideas.
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 11:49 PM on December 1, 2011


Mod note: A couple of comments removed: the OP is asking for help finding the article or study, not asking if the argument is accurate.
posted by taz (staff) at 12:07 AM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]


I think I found a reference to the article that you were looking for on another blog, but the original article appears to have been removed when you follow the link. I think the article might be the right one, because the blog says that the article asks the question "is adoption an “environmentally conscious” decision?"

However, it also links to the original scientific study that provoked the argument in the first place, which concludes that "a person’s reproductive choices must be considered along with his day-to-day activities when assessing his ultimate impact on the global environment."
posted by Conspire at 1:07 AM on December 2, 2011


Response by poster: [I'm open to resources about this or someone replicating whatever argument I might have read. The deleted comments were in the nature of "this argument cannot exist/does not make sense."]
posted by needs more cowbell at 7:26 AM on December 2, 2011


Possibly something by Sharon Astyk. She writes quite a bit about population and sustainable living.
posted by Felicity Rilke at 3:29 PM on December 2, 2011


CQ Researcher had an extensive article a few years back about the declining birthrates and what repercussions it may cause in the future... I don't know if it's exactly what you're looking for, but it's interesting and pertaining to your subject anyway. here
posted by camylanded at 3:56 AM on December 4, 2011


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