Thread: WND: Wanna help planet? 'Let's all just die!'

Wanna help planet? 'Let's all just die!'
Group pushes to improve Earth's ecosystem by ensuring human species does not survive
Posted: May 11, 2008
10:33 pm Eastern

By Chelsea Schilling
© 2008 WorldNetDaily

"May we live long and die out" is the unofficial motto of a movement that seeks to improve the Earth's ecosystem by ensuring that the human species does not survive.

The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement, or VHEMT, consists of volunteers who have made active life decisions to remain childless for the benefit of the Earth, thereby preventing the extinction of millions of species of plants and animals.


VHEMT poster, graphic by Nina Paley

While no one person takes credit for being the founder, Les U. Knight created its name and is the spokesperson for the movement.

"We've already exceeded Earth's carrying capacity for humans by quite a bit," Knight told WND. "We are using up our resources. The best way to stop it is by not breeding. It's really the best way because the people we don't create don't exist, and so there's no impact on them."

VHEMT activists believe a smaller population will benefit the Earth by reducing human and environmental catastrophe.

"There is no problem on the planet that would be more easily solved by adding more people," Knight said. "Everything that we like, including clean air and clean water and wilderness to go and visit, all of those will increase as there become fewer of us."

Knight said the greenest habit humans can have is to prevent creation of another member of the species, reducing humanity's ecological footprint on the Earth.

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Though VHEMT volunteers have made active decisions to not bring children into the world, Knight said he is not concerned that the movement will literally die out.

"It's an idea, and it's not transferred genetically," he said. "We aren't born knowing we should go extinct; we have to learn it. We don't need to create new humans in order to indoctrinate them from birth. All of us come from breeding couples, and yet we've decided not to breed."


VHEMT strives to increase the status of women in society with the stated goal of giving them choices besides motherhood by promoting "universal reproductive freedom." While Knight said the main goal of the movement is to prevent procreation, he claims it does not promote abortion or other methods of terminating life.

"There's no need for that. Contraception prevents abortion, and we'll be dead soon enough," he said. "Whatever it takes to avoid creating a new human is what we advocate."

As for the size of the group, Knight said he can only guess because the movement is not an organization that people can join. However, he provided an estimate of the number of subscribers to the VHEMT philosophy:

"There must be several million people who have arrived at the conclusion that we would be better off without humans."

When Knight formed the movement, he had one objective in mind:

"The ultimate goal is one I will never see," Knight said. "I will never see the day that there are no humans on the planet."


http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=63755

I posted this story 1/2 in jest in a mocking way, and 1/2 seriously to show that, as in the case of illegal immigration, there is no environmental problem - not 1 - that is made better by just adding more humans to the planet.

Am I arguing for 'population control', or rigid parenting/birthing policies? No.
I am just trying to draw attention to the fact that the planet has too many people that can be sustained with a sufficient income and standard of living....that's all

Once again, I issue the call to environmental groups everywhere - where do you stand on illegal immigration (and mass LEGAL immigration as well)?

Am I arguing for 'population control', or rigid parenting/birthing policies? No.
I am just trying to draw attention to the fact that the planet has too many people that can be sustained with a sufficient income and standard of living....that's all

Exactly.....we have NO shortage of PEOPLE...period.

"There must be several million people who have arrived at the conclusion that we would be better off without humans."

LOL....I used to say retail would be fun if it weren't for the darn customers. Medicine is great if it weren't for all the sick people. We have one person who writes to the paper and says if we'd all just quit eating meat the world would be better.

I think they are transplanting poverty and racial and cultural differences so between acts of God, disease, draught and tension....we'll weed each other out.