BirthStrikers Say 'No' To Having Children To Save Them From Climate Doom

Climate change is real. And fast melting glaciers, shrinking ice caps, dying polar bears and heat waves are proof-enough to get us knocking on the doors of our legislatures to help avert the ecological armageddon.

With the growing severity of ecological crisis, Earth-loving and climate-conscious people have taken stand "not to have children." BirthStrike is one such group, with over 300 members, that has members declaring their decision not to have kids because of the climate crisis.

The founder of BirthStrike, Blythe Pepino told CNN that she really wants to have a kid but doesn’t feel like this is the a time that one can do that. The 33-year-old musician says BirthStrike is a voluntary organization for men and women who have decided not to have children in response to the coming "climate breakdown and civilization collapse."

The Guardian said that she hopes to channel the grief she feels about her decision into something more active and regenerative and hopeful. “In just two weeks, 140 people, mostly women in UK, have declared their decision not to bear children due to the severity of the ecological crisis,” said Pepino. “But we have also had people get in touch to say ‘thank you for speaking out about something that I didn’t feel I could even talk to my family about’,” she added.

Pepino explained that Birthstrike is distinct from the antinatalist movement as it communicates the urgency of the ecological crisis. “It is a radical acknowledgement of how the looming existential threat is already alterating the way we imagine our future,” she said. But Pepino also says that BirthStrike is not trying to solve the crisis by not having children. “We are trying to get the information out there,” she explained. Another member, Lori Day said climate change is worsening. She likened it to fallining dominoes. “It goes beyond sea level rise and storms. It affects food production, migration, resources and war,” Day said.

U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has also voiced concerns about the government inaction to climate change. In March, Ocasio-Cortez told her millions of Instagram followers that there is a scientific consensus that the lives of children are going to be difficult. She questioned whether is it still okay to have children.