British population think tank shames large families

Got your 10-foot pole handy? You’ll need it for this story: U.K. think tank Optimum Population Trust published a report yesterday declaring that having a large family is akin to such eco-crimes as leaving lights on, driving an SUV, and tossing plastic bags in the trash. Forget carbon taxes: this organization is all about limiting kidlets. Indeed, take note, ye American families who have exceeded the census-average 2.1 children: that third nipper costs the planet the equivalent of 620 trans-Atlantic flights. And consider this Actual Calculation: one Briton costs the planet an equivalent of nearly $60,000, while a condom runs you, um, far less than that — a “spectacular” potential return. “A population-based climate strategy involves fewer of the taxes, regulations, and other limits on personal freedom and mobility now being canvassed in response to climate change,” the report says. And our search for even a hint of irony appears to be in vain.