Question of the Week

In “Four Changes” deep ecologist Gary Snyder cites the overpopulation of human beings as a potentially disastrous planetary problem “not only for the human race but for most other life forms.” He argues that having more than two biological children is socially irresponsible, and he advocates adopting children for the purpose of distributing “the pleasure of raising children widely so that all [people] need not directly reproduce to share in this basic human experience.” He also advocates removing “income tax deductions for more than two children” and a tax scale that forces “lower income families” to be “careful, too.”

To what extent do you agree or disagree with Snyder’s approach to the population problem? How many children, if any, should contemporary people have and why?

Answer these questions in a short (300-500 word) response paper in which you quote Snyder and present your own reasoned and logical solution to the problem of overpopulation.

Post your response on your blog and leave it there until I ask you to delete it. Be sure to write for a professional and academic audience.

The photo above shows environmental writer John Daniel standing next to Snyder's publisher, Jack Shoemaker, at the 2005 Summer Fishtrap Gathering in Joseph, Oregon.