An Introduction to Sustainable Family Planning for Ohio State Students By: Andrew Brehm, Abby Clark, Justin Frey, Gabriella Mickel, Hannah Stoepfel, and Austin Starkey

Why should Ohio State students consider sustainable family planning?

• The population is growing exponentially.• Globally: The global population has grown from 1.8 billion people in

1920 to over 7.7 billion people in 2019. That’s ~6 billion people in ~100 years (Figure 1). This huge growth, in addition to current human consumptive lifestyles, and its stressors on our natural systems are arguably one of the biggest, if not the biggest, driver of the scale of anthropogenic climate change.

• Ohio: In 2018, there were 11.6894 Million people (US Census).• Birth Rate Ohio (2018): 11.54• Death Rate Ohio (2018): 10.05• It is predicted that due to climate change, Americans will move north

to cities like Columbus and Cleveland.• Why Ohio State students?• We can reduce emissions as much as we want, but if we continue to

grow population wise, even the smallest emission levels, as is the case of most people in underdeveloped countries, add up.

• Specifically, Ohio State graduates have an average income of $69,000, putting them and their future children in the category of some of the world's highest contributors to climate drivers like CO2 emissions (Figure 2).

• Most Ohio State students have not had kids but are at the age when they begin to think about forming a family.

Introducing the idea of sustainable family planning to Ohio State students is an extremely cost-effective and scalable strategy that can, with admittedly hard to predict magnitude of influence, reduce Ohio’s contribution to anthropogenic climate change.

Options for Sustainable Family Planning & The Possible Impact on Climate Change

Figure 1. The exponential growth of the global population.

Explanation: The most scientifically and socially advanced option. It will soon be legal to create a child with 2 biological dads and 1 biological mom. Reducing the number of biological children per adult can be a route to reducing impact.

Explanation: Foster or Adopt - the alternative to creating more children when you want to be a parent. In 2018, there were 16,154 children in foster care in Ohio.

Cost to Implement: No net cost, the only cost is birth control*.

Want to calculate your own projected family’s impact? Check out the calculator!

Cost of Implementing this Strategy on Campus

Explanation: Many people live happy lives without children! The average cost of raising a child in the US with the average OSU projected income is $12,980 annually per child. That’s a lot of extra money.

Impact: Having no children or adopting/fostering instead are the most impactful actions. One child results in 23,700 CO2e per year (kg).

Cost to Parent(s) to Implement: Minimal cost to foster, many states pay their foster parents. Adoption can vary from $0 to $50,000, but the cost via the Foster/Adopt program is $0-$1,000 to adopt. Plus birth control*.

Impact: Having no children or adopting/fostering instead are the most impactful actions. One biological child results in 23,700 CO2e per year (kg).

• This strategy is not a law. It doesn’t entail forced participation. It is simply a pitch for education on the impact of different types of family.

• The only cost to implement this strategy is the cost of marketing. Thus, this proposal is extremely scalable. Some campus-specific options:• Standard 11" x 17" Advertisement (landscape) on CABS: 4

consecutive weeks, $70.00 (50 ads); $90.00 (100 ads)• Options from The Lantern:• Quarter Page Horizontal 10”W x 4”H $535.00• E-Newsletter 800 x 250 $1,295.00 (per month)• Instagram Post (5) @TheLanternOSU $1,000

• Facebook/Instagram ad targeted via location with a 5-mile radius centered around campus: $50 per ~1,000 views (Figure 4)

The Big Takeaway: Fewer Biological Kids, Less Impact

Best Case: OSU students go on to have fewer kids than they would have had.

Worst Case: OSU students go on to have the same amount of kids but might think of the impact and thus change other behaviors.

http://sustainablefamilyplanning.com/

Population is the multiplier of every type of emission. It doesn't matter how efficient cars are, for example, if the number of people with cars continues to grow exponentially. Family planning is one of the most impactful actions a person can take to reduce their carbon footprint, and yet it is one of the most undertaught and under recommended strategies.

*The Average Cost and Efficacy of Various Birth Control Methods

Explanation: Having one child instead of many, or even less than you initially considered, can make a huge difference. Remember, even without biological children, you can build a family via adoption and fostering. One study suggested having one child is linked to maximum happiness when compared to many. Other studies suggested that happiness does not increase after two.Cost to Parent(s) Implement: The only cost is birth control*. Additionally, the less children you have, the more money you save (Figure 6).

Explanation: Although a brand-new option, decreasing the number of total traditionally biological children is possible in this way. This technology allows a baby two have two biological dads and one biological mom by combining different sections of sperm. While this may seem drastic, in the age of blended families and surrogates, it may not be as far from cultural acceptance.

References

Impact: Having just one less child can reduce your impact by 23,700 CO2e per year (kg). It is also important to note that the biological children you do have will most likely have children of their own, which is included in your personal impact calculation (Figure 5).

Impact: The traditionally biological children you do have will most likely have children of their own, which in some calculations, is included in your personal impact. This method allows for generation reduction and can limit total children overall (Figure 5).

Cost to Parent(s) Implement: TBA, this technology is too new to know, however, it was developed as a fertility treatment. Thus, it is safe to assume without subsidized cost it may be upwards of $15,000. Split three ways, that is $5,000 per parent. See also – the cost of birth control*.

Figure 2. Global income deciles & associated lifestyle consumption emissions. OSU grads and their children are some of the biggest contributors to CO2 emissions.

Figure 3. CO2 equivalent reduction comparison. Having one less child, has the largest reduction by far.

Figure 4. A mockup of what an Instagram ad could look like with the link leading to our calculator and informative website.

Figure 5. Calculations for CO2e contributions include a generational contribution component. This chart shows your responsibility for the emissions of your decedents based on 2 vs. 3 parent scenario.

Figure 6. The cost of birth control annually clearly doesn’t compare to the enormous cost of children annually.

• Bush, B. (2018, December 21). Number of Ohio Kids in Foster Care Jumped to 3,500 in Five Years, Largely Due to Opioid Crisis. Retrieved from https://www.dispatch.com/news/20181220/number-of-ohio-kids-in-foster-care-jumped-by-3500-in-five-years-largely-due-to-opioid-crisis

• Franklin County Law Library. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2019, from https://fclawlib.libguides.com/ohioadoptionlaw/costs• Lino, M. (2017, January 13). The Cost of Raising a Child. Retrieved from https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2017/01/13/cost-raising-child• Myrskyla, M., Margolis, R. (2014, August 21). Happiness: Before and After the Kids. Retrieved from

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13524-014-0321-x• Ohio State University The Lantern. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2019, from https://cpb-us-

e1.wpmucdn.com/www.thelantern.com/dist/c/1/files/2019/07/Lantern-LOCAL-19-20-MK.pdf• Ohio State University (OSU) - Main Campus Salary. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2019, from

https://www.payscale.com/research/US/School=Ohio_State_University_(OSU)_-_Main_Campus/Salary• Ohio State University (OSU) – Transportation and Traffic Management. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2019, from https://ttm.osu.edu/other-

transit-and-services/advertise• Oxfam Media Briefing. (2015, December 2). Extreme Carbon Inequality.• Penn Today. (2006, February 23). One Baby or Two? Study Looks at Effect of Having a Second Child. Retrieved from

https://penntoday.upenn.edu/2006-02-23/research/one-baby-or-two-study-looks-effect-having-second-child• Roser, M., Ritchie, H., & Ortiz-Ospina, E. (2013). World Population Growth. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/world-population-

growth• Rhythm method for natural family planning. (2018, January 6). Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/rhythm-

method/about/pac-20390918• Snider, S. (2019, May 2). The cost of birth control. Retrieved from https://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/family-

finance/articles/the-cost-of-birth-control• The University of Toledo. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2019, from https://www.utoledo.edu/nsm/bio/research/AvidorReiss.html• Trussell, J., Lalla, A., Doan, Q., Reyes, E., Pinto, L., & Gricar, J. (2008, September 25). Cost effectiveness of contraceptives in the united states.

Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3638200/• Wynes, S., Nicholas, K. (2017, July 12). The Climate Mitigation Gap: Education and Government Recommendations Miss the Most Effective

Individual Action. Retrieved from https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa7541

Do you feel having children is extremely

important to you?

YES

Fostering and Adoption

Three Parent FamiliesConsider Limiting the

Number of Traditionally Biological Children

NO