Modern Mother Earth

Last night, I read an article that my friend Jennifer (with son, Luke, in above photo) gave me from the National Post about "Careers Curtailing Children." It is not necessarily a new topic, but a recent study of Canadian professional women confirmed what we already knew and put it in writing - that women are putting children on hold to focus on careers first. The article cites workplace practices and governmental policies as reasons, although I would add, that particularly in Winnipeg, the inadequacy of daycare solutions for children under two is certainly a deterrent. Anyway, what WAS new and interesting, is that Canada's birth rate is currently 1.5 children per couple, which is well below the population replacement level of 2.1 kids per couple, which is being called a "global employment issue" with implications for the labor force, pension plans, immigration policies and Canada's general global competitiveness.



Then, I read a second (and very disturbing article) from the June 10, 2004 Rolling Stone titled "Diary of a Dying Planet." This is not just another article about global warming, but actually reviews some of the projected and worst case scenarios. Did you know that 19 of the 20 hottest years on record have occurred since 1980? Or, that in 15 years, Kilimanjaro's permanent ice cap will have completely melted? Or that Glacier National Park will no longer have any glaciers by 2030? Or, that the US emits 25% of the world's CO2 and that the Bush administration withdrew from the Kyoto protocol and implemented voluntary standards and has been openly censoring the EPA reports on global warming? (You probably knew that one.) All of this has occurred or will occur within my lifetime, and this is not an act of God, but rather an act of man.



Apparently, one possible scenario is that the extreme heat will result in rapid melting of all the ice, which will in turn impact the Gulf Stream and cause Europe to go into a deep freeze and the rest of the world to sizzle. The earth's "Carrying Capacity" will significantly decrease. Which, may be another reason for the decline in birth rates - mother's intuition, anyone?



Regardless, extensive damage has already been done to the environment, but we can make a difference. We should all do what we can to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Take the bus, carpool, buy a hybrid car, live off the grid, vote against Bush, whatever it takes.