On This Day
Is Divorce Bad for the Environment?
by
findingDulcinea Staff
A divorced person takes up more space and uses more resources than a married one, according to a recent U.S. study. The findings prompt an assessment of the relationship between environmental goals and way of life.
30-Second Summary
Lead researcher Jianguo "Jack" Liu of Michigan State University found that rising divorce rates across the globe are contributing to an increase in the consumption of energy and water. His report, “Environmental Impacts of Divorce,” appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“In the United States alone in 2005, divorced households used 73 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity and 627 billion gallons of water that could have been saved had household size remained the same as that of married households,” Liu said in a statement issued by his university.
Michelle Myers, a divorcee and a CNET reporter, covered the story. She said, “What I am worried about, however, is that such ridiculous and unproductive claims will keep people from taking the green movement seriously.”
Alex Mindlin of the Los Angeles Times took a different tack: The real issue isn’t that divorce is bad for the environment, but rather that living with other people is good for it.
“So if we really want to save the planet, we should live in communes, bunk with roommates, rent out our basements to weird guys (who, we'll later tell the police, ‘pretty much kept to themselves’),” writes Mindlin.
British author Theodore Dalrymple questions whether the new findings will mean environmentalists will now support family values as an environmental cause. He doubts it. In Dalrymple’s opinion, among green activists the desire to save the planet is not nearly as powerful as the desire to destroy a lifestyle.
“In the United States alone in 2005, divorced households used 73 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity and 627 billion gallons of water that could have been saved had household size remained the same as that of married households,” Liu said in a statement issued by his university.
Michelle Myers, a divorcee and a CNET reporter, covered the story. She said, “What I am worried about, however, is that such ridiculous and unproductive claims will keep people from taking the green movement seriously.”
Alex Mindlin of the Los Angeles Times took a different tack: The real issue isn’t that divorce is bad for the environment, but rather that living with other people is good for it.
“So if we really want to save the planet, we should live in communes, bunk with roommates, rent out our basements to weird guys (who, we'll later tell the police, ‘pretty much kept to themselves’),” writes Mindlin.
British author Theodore Dalrymple questions whether the new findings will mean environmentalists will now support family values as an environmental cause. He doubts it. In Dalrymple’s opinion, among green activists the desire to save the planet is not nearly as powerful as the desire to destroy a lifestyle.
Headline Links: ‘Environmental Impacts of Divorce’
Liu’s study found that “In the United States alone in 2005, divorced households used 73 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity and 627 billion gallons of water that could have been saved had household size remained the same as that of married households. Thirty-eight million extra rooms were needed with associated costs for heating and lighting.”
Source: Science Daily
The abstract of “Environmental Impacts of Divorce” is free and available from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. The full text requires a paid subscription.
Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Opinion Links: Lifestyle choices and the environment
Michelle Myers of CNET News writes, “What I am worried about, however, is that such ridiculous and unproductive claims will keep people from taking the green movement seriously … And it just fuels conservative theories of a ‘junk science fad known as global warming.’”
Source: CNET News
Theodore Dalrymple of City Journal questions whether, in the light of the findings, environmentalists will now support family values. Will the environmental movement “push for the tightening of divorce laws, and for financial penalties—in the form, say, of higher taxes—to be imposed on those who insist upon divorcing, and therefore upon using 46 percent more electricity and 52 percent more water per person than married couples who stay together? Will environmentalists march down the streets with banners reading SAVE THE PLANET: STAY WITH THE HUSBAND YOU HATE?”
Source: City Journal
Alex Mindlin of the Los Angeles Times believes that the real issue isn’t that divorce is bad for the environment, but rather that living with other people is good for it. “So if we really want to save the planet, we should live in communes, bunk with roommates, rent out our basements to weird guys (who, we'll later tell the police, 'pretty much kept to themselves') or, in a custom long practiced by unemployed philosophy majors, live with our parents until a) we finally give up and go to law school or b) someone marries us out of sheer pity.”
Source: Los Angeles Times
Talk radio host Dr. Laura Schlessinger supports the findings and tells her readers, “I figure, if you can make noise and a commitment to the environment, you ought to be able to make love and a commitment to your marriage … if for no other reason than saving the environment.”
Source: The Dr. Laura Blog
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