It’s tempting to dismiss these views as empty words. But a recent study, not looking at surveys but actual data on people’s reproductive decisions, suggests non-environmentalists are 60% more likely to have children than committed ones.5 Of course, this may not be the only reason environmentalists are less likely to have children, but it gives us some concrete evidence that when people say they’re anxious about having kids, they’re not bluffing. If people aren’t bluffing about their hesitation to have kids, they’re probably not bluffing about their feelings of doom and anxiety either.
