This is a guest post by Merry Teesdale.  Merry Teesdale is a field biologist and permaculture designer who specializes in win-win solutions. She manages OwlWood Wildlife Refuge and OwlWood Garden, which displays and encourages the development of sustainable food production within the community. She also writes the Journey to Permaculture series for Whatcom Watch.

 Merry writes:

Thank you for the fantastic job you are doing by giving us cutting edge information.  I love to read your emails.  Good work.  [referring to our weekly Sustainable Bellingham email newsletter - DM]

There is one subject that I haven't seen anything about in the media.  It is that elephant in our living room that no one is acknowledging.  Perhaps you can find some info on it to start a dialog in our society. 
All these problems we are having and will be having would be alleviated if our population was brought into balance with the resources.  How can we lower our population?   This is THE most important question we should be dealing with. 

I suggest we accept for discussion positive reasonable solutions and stay on track with that.  For example, our government could reward young women of childbearing age for not having children until they are 28 yrs old.  (This cuts out approx. 12 years of potential children from each woman.  By the time they are 28, they have established and educated themselves and will have a better life for themselves and their children.    How can we reward these young women for not becoming a parent?  How about refunding their income tax each year as long as they don't have a child?  From age 18 to 24 we could also pay for some credits of school at state funded colleges or tech schools. 

Some positive new language needs to happen too.  
First, we need a good positive word to describe a female person who isn't having a child.  So women can be proud of that condition.     Childless - sounds like lack, 'not a mother' (not so good)  See what I mean?

The people who will ultimately save us all are the young women who choose to not have children, or who only have one.   They deserve thanks and recognition.   We need a world-wide movement about this.   We are all here right now and it would be wrong to complain about those who are now living, but our future is unrealized potential.  We CAN do things about it and these things are really quite easy.  All we have to do is REFRAIN from doing things.  Refrain from having children, refrain from burning stuff. 
I have great faith in the ability and flexibility of our populus to deal with hard times.  A public dialog and educational program about a smaller population and how we can get there will be a great boon to this society. 

Merry Teesdale

[comments/replies are encouraged - DM]