At some point in everyone’s life, they think about having children, whether it be possible name choices, what kind of sports they want their child to play or if having a baby is just out of the question.

Chico State pushes sustainability on its students any chance it gets, even earning recognition at the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference last year for its sustainability practices. A pathway is even dedicated to this topic so students can further their own understanding of it.

They want us to recycle and spend less time in the shower for the greater good, but honestly, they should just push us to not have children.

Now, the carbon footprint of a child can vary from country to country. The United States generates a larger footprint when children are involved because we have access to many resources that can harm the environment.

Walking down the street in America, anyone can see a child playing with their mother’s iPhone or even their own iPad. If you were to go to a developing nation, children would not have access to such things, let alone a car or appliances to cook. These actions all pile up to create the carbon footprint of each individual.

While adults in the United States who wish to have children try to justify their actions by taking measures to reduce their own carbon footprint, it will still not warrant the choice to have a child in this world.

Recycling is a wonderful way to help the environment, but bringing another leech into the world to suck up our resources cannot be justified.

Yes, they may provide joy and a feeling of accomplishment by helping further the human race; the child may even become the next president or find a cure for cancer. In reality, they are just going to take all the resources and probably shorten their own time on this Earth by taking away the vital resources that are needed to sustain the human race.

So put the baby-making on hold, we have a world to save.

Elizabeth Ernster can be reached at [email protected] or @Liz_Ernster on Twitter.