Jo Young—Age 37, Ireland

Ignore the distractions, focus on what’s important. We are facing an unprecedented global threat that needs priority above all the “distraction” the world throws at us.  I have always been conscious of how my decision to have children will add to the already pressing burden on nature and the environment, with species going extinct every day. 

We live as green a lifestyle as our situation affords.  My partner and i have taken the decision that unless global attitudes change entirely (which doesn’t seem plausible within our lifetime), it would be inconceivable for us to bring children into the world.  I am 37 years old now and soon coming to the end of my natural reproductive cycle.  It has sometimes been difficult to deny the natural urges that comes to approaching this age in life.  Every time I do, I just take a stroll along the plastic covered beaches or a walk through what’s left of the forests here in Ireland.  How much more damage do we have to cause for people to come to the same realisation?