I was one of the ones who wanted to have children. I couldn't. I tried to adopt (after my divorce, as my ex and I were never able to agree on adoption) and was heartbroken when the mother changed her mind.
However, I am now 40 and childfree and very relieved that I will not have a child (adopted or biological) that will suffer in the future because of the lack of resources left. I have added to the problem, yes. I drive a car a few days a week. I do ride a commuter rail to work, but I only get to do that 2 days a week because my schedule is so screwy. I'm trying my best to reverse the damage I have done or at least to prevent more if possible. I feel terrible that we have polluted our planet in such a way that there aren't enough resources for us.
One thing that I am sure of: I grew up eating farm food and basically organic stuff we grew ourselves (even our meat and dairy came from cows and chickens I grew up around), but when I was in my 20s, that all ended, and I had to start buying my food at the grocery store. Nothing tasted the same, I developed all manner of illness, and I developed 3 auto-immune diseases within a decade.
The more people we have on this planet, and the more pollution we cause, the more disease we will have. I am also infertile which may or may not be linked to the pollutants around me. It wouldn't surprise me. Sadly, I have begun to look at infertility as a sort of twisted blessing. In one way, it is the most painful thing to go through, but it also means that maybe the population crisis will solve itself somehow. I know that sounds weird, and I'll probably get flamed, but it's just something that crosses my mind from time to time.
I never used donor sperm or did IVF because I can't bear the thought of all the drugs involved and the idea of a kid maybe falling in love with a long-lost sibling. It's too far in my opinion.
Our 7 billion people will definitely leave a mark. I do thing that once humans die out or at least thin our numbers profoundly that maybe the earth can survive and be beautiful again. But right now, we've caused a lot of damage. It's hard to be hopeful.
