Howdy. It's been a crazy few days.
This past weekend, we drove forever and ever to the extended family Xmas gathering. We passed small town after small town, wending our way through street after street of disheveled homes. Instead of thinking how quaint, I thought, these are the people who are going to be hungry this Christmas. These are the people who are losing their jobs.
Yeah, not a happy thought.
But I have made some decisions that might help make the world a better place.
I've joined up with the Transition Town movement. This is a movement to reduce our carbon impact, create local resiliency to economic and energy shocks, and support local economies through grassroots action.
Second, I finally decided what I want to be when I grow up; A physician's assistant. I need about two years of pre-requisites (part-time) before I can apply. Who knows what will happen by then, but I hope the earth will not have flooded over and that there will still be financial aid for me to go through the PA program. I hope to specialize in primary care, which is where the US has such a profound shortage of doctors. I don't have the time or the energy to do hardcore medical school, so PA seems like a happy compromise.
The idea now is to start taking classes this January. I think I'll be starting with microbiology and auditing a math review course in preparation for algebra (which kicked my butt in High School).
In other news, I would like to make a public service announcement: There are 70-80 million-ish babies born, worldwide, each year. 3 million-ish of those babies are conceived via assisted reproductive technology (ART). Denying couples access to ART is not going to solve the overpopulation problem, okay? I know everyone wants to be green and save the earth and all, but it's not going to happen by shutting down fertility clinics. That's like killing one ant and thinking you've vanquished the whole colony. There are still waaaaaay more oopsie babies than IVF babies. Okay?
I sent an email essentially saying the same to a rather prominent green blogger who seemed to think telling me what to do with my uterus was going to save the world. Ummm. No. And no matter how I got pregnant (IVF), I still have fewer children than famed peak oil/eco-writer Sharon Astyk.
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2 comments:
Well, that was an interesting post! Lots to think about there. And NO ONE should comment on ANYONE else's fertility/non-fertility/childlessness/childfulness etc. Except maybe if you are the Duggars (those people who have a TV show and have about 17 kids)...they are kind of asking to be talked about, I think.
I just sent you an email, so hopefully you'll see it. Like I said there and in the comments of my post, I am not against IVF, never have been.
I also am not a proponent of limiting people's right to fertility treatments nor am I at all supportive of enforced sterilization for population control.
So, I am not telling you what to do with your uterus. It's your uterus, do as you wish with it. I'm sorry you came away with that interpretation from my post, but it couldn't be further from my opinion on the matter.
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