"Big Families are the New Green"

On another blog I read, Mommy Life , she posted an article by a Catholic woman about how big families actually are not the cause of great gobs of waste and anti-Earth living. I have been thinking about this very thing for some time now, coming up with many of the same points she mentions. Here is the start of the article:

Got a big family? Then you already know that you’re crazy, a traitor to feminism, and a slave to the pope; you’re neglecting most of your kids and robbing the rest of their childhood; you’re a burden on the system in general, and you probably don’t own a television set.
But wait, there’s more! Don’t forget, you’re also destroying the earth.
Lately, it’s become fashionable for radical environmentalists to denounce large families as irresponsible, even selfish. Maybe you heard the remarks of the chairman of the U.K.’s Sustainable Development Commission, who said that, out of respect for the earth, couples should be legally limited to bearing two “replacement” children.
And yet, if we can get beyond the inflammatory rhetoric, do radical environmentalists have a point? Should we slow down a little? It almost seems like common sense, especially when you’re having one of those days when you do feel a little crowded by the swarms of ravening locusts — uh, I mean, treasured offspring who share your last name. After all, aren’t Catholics supposed to be good stewards of the earth? Isn’t it true that we “lotsas” are using more than our share of natural resources, burning more than our share of carbon, and just plain taking up too much space?
Probably not. Moms of many already know that the work of caring for seven children is not the same as caring for one child times seven. In some ways, it’s easier. In the same way, many large families actually have a smaller carbon footprint than a typical family with one or two kids. A household of nine is not like a household of three times three. It just doesn’t work that way.

Read the rest of the article here.

Wow, I totally can relate to her first point, about how a big 12-passenger van can be "eco-friendly"--don't drive it! We also drastically limit our errands, trying to leave the house as little as possible. A good day for me is a day spent at home. And since we already have a built-in sports team right here, we don't have to run around all the time to different practices, playdates, etc.

We are definitely of the "tight-budget" mentality, especially living here in D.C. on one income! I can count on one hand the things we have bought new. Most of our stuff comes from the "for sale" board at Bob's work, LOL. All our clothes pretty much are either given to us from kind friends, or bought at the biannual consignment sales around here. We rarely buy things new. Whenever we read those ubiquitous articles about how to save $1000 a year, Bob and I always laugh at the suggestions--give up Starbucks! Pack your own lunch! Eat out less often! Use the library instead of always buying the latest best-seller, right when it comes out! LOL--so what happens when you never did those things?! We should be rolling in money! We are definitely "complete failures as consumers", just like the author's family!

I know that the ultra-radical environmentalists don't have a clue how a big family really operates, and I don't think they really care to learn, unfortunately. People don't really matter to them, so they are not open to hear our arguments. But they are missing out. As the author says, "There is nothing you can say. Satisfy yourself that you’re not being wasteful, and then answer not the fool according to his folly. Love your children, and teach them to love each other; and if you and your brood feel like a sign of contradiction, then that’s a good sign."

We're not Catholic, as this lady is (or Mormon either, although I am asked that all. the. time.), but I agree with her conclusions.

Of course it’s our job to care for the earth. But even more, it’s our job to remember, and to teach our children, that this world will not last, and to live accordingly.
“All flesh is as grass, and all its glory as the flower of grass; the grass withered, and the flower has fallen — but the word of the Lord endures forever” (Isaiah 40:6).
How will it endure, if there is no one to hear it? Let us answer the No of child-fearing radicals with a joyful and ancient Yes. The world needs big families.