if people are the problem...

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Sep 09, 2009

 A study from the London School of Economics concludes that the best way to make the earth safe for future generations is to eliminate future generations.

That's not quite how the authors would frame their argument, of course. But it is a natural extension of their logic. The problem, they explain, is that people create a demand for the consumption of fuel and the creation of CO₂ emissions. (Learn to think of yourself as an "emitter.") So if we can prevent the birth of future people, we can limit the CO₂ emissions. The LSE scholars conclude that we should be spending more money on contraceptives.

But if you accept the logic of the report, why address only the problems created by the generations yet unborn? Babies have very small carbon footprints; it's the adults who consume the most fuel. And we should be addressing the problem now, not sometime out in the future. So if we could just eliminate some of the adult population... 

By the logic of the LSE report, a mass murderer could see himself as an environmental hero. And the only truly sincere expression of concern by an ecology advocate would come in a suicide note.