Are children bad for the health of the planet, and therefore human civilization? Should we stop making them? Or do we need to step it up and make lots more than we’re currently making (does anyone have a good recipe)? Or does the intelligent answer lie somewhere in-between?

The GrowthBusters podcast team doesn’t shy away from tough topics when the fate of human civilization hangs in the balance. In this episode, Ben, Kaitlyn and I discuss recent news headlines about fertility rates and offer their opinions on the views of Matt Lewis (The Daily Beast) and Travis Rieder (Berman Institute of Bioethics). Over 15,000 of the world’s scientists also weigh in. . . .

The new GrowthBusters podcast is now active, with three episodes available now for your enjoyment and enlightenment.

Why a GrowthBusters podcast?

Many lively discussions begin on our webinars, on my media bias analysis at www.growthbiasbusted.org, and in response to Facebook posts. And those have continued here in the office (thanks to the presence of our two student interns, Kaitlyn and Ben). So, we decided the time is right to launch an official GrowthBusters podcast.

You can listen to the first episodes right here (just below, in this post), or you can find the GrowthBusters podcast (and subscribe, for free) at iTunes, Stitcher or the Apple Podcasts app. Subscribing means you’ll automatically get new episodes when available. (You’ll also find a couple of old episodes of our Paving Paradise podcast, which I started last summer but abandoned due to lack of time.) . . .

July 11 is World Population Day. We recently passed 7.6 billion humans alive on the planet, while scientists’ best estimates place sustainable world population at about 2 billion. This is an important occasion to have a conversation about our procreative choices.

Isn’t it time for the recommendation to go out far and wide that young couples should choose to have no children, or at most one child, until world population coasts back down to a sustainable level? The connection between family size decisions, climate change and carbon footprint has been getting more and more press, so we at GrowthBusters wondered if the time had finally come.

Is the public ready to acknowledge we have a moral responsibility to have fewer children? . . .

Learn about an exciting paradigm-shifting initiative at the next free GrowthBusters webinar.

Please join me for an engaging conversation about how we can catalyze the needed paradigm shift to a life-sustaining society. You’re invited to join this GrowthBusters webinar at no cost.

I’ve invited Andrew Gaines of the Great Transition Initiative to tell us more about the project. It’s gearing up to help catalyze the system change we need in order for human civilization to stick around on planet Earth awhile longer.

Date and Time: Wednesday, June 14 at 9pm EDT. Register Here

Registrants receive a link to view a replay in case they cannot attend live. The webinar will last one hour and 15 minutes.

On the webinar we’ll pick Andrew’s brain and explore how he thinks we can align to solve the major bottlenecks challenging our transition to a sustainable society. How can we go past ‘preaching to the converted’ and bring a critical mass of the general public into considering the consequences of big picture trends such as ever-growing global economy and population, global warming, and peak everything? . . .

REGISTER FOR THIS WEBINAR

Did you know our relentless pursuit of robust economic growth is liquidating the planet of vital resources much faster than it can regenerate them? We are “burning down the house to keep warm.” There is another way.

If this idea intrigues you, please join us for an enlightening conversation February 15, 2017 with Brian Czech, author of Shoveling Fuel for a Runaway Train and Supply Shock: Economic Growth at the Crossroads. Brian is president of the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy, and he’ll explain the need for, and benefits of, a steady state economy.

Brian is a conservation biologist who taught ecological economics for over a decade at Virginia Tech. He is frequently invited to speak to groups and writes for Huffington Post and the Daly News. I love his sense of humor and way with words. Registration for this webinar entitles you to participate both in the February 15 session and a more advanced followup webinar on February 22. Both webinars begin at 9 pm U.S. Eastern Time and last one hour and 15 minutes. Registrants will receive a link to view a replay of the webinar. . . .