An environmental campaign in the US has come up with a novel if not extreme way to combat global warming: they want mankind to stop breeding and die out.
The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement is the brainchild of Les U Knight, a middle-aged supply teacher from Oregon, who came up with the principles for his final solution after returning from Vietnam.
Since setting up VHEMT (“pronounced vehement, because that’s what we are”) in 1991, Mr Knight has found 2,000 likeminded individuals. There is only one prerequisite when joining the organisation: thou shalt not procreate.
Surprisingly VHEMT does not advocate suicide - instead followers adhere to the slogan: “may we live long and die out”, in order to spread the message. The philosophy is a simple one. “When every human chooses to stop breeding,” says the manifesto, “Earth’s biosphere will be allowed to return to its former glory, and all remaining creatures will be free to live, die, evolve, and will perhaps pass away, as so many of nature’s ‘experiments’ have done throughout the aeons.”
“There are 200,000 more of us in the world each day, and that’s more than the entire population of great apes in existence,” says Mr Knight. “It’s extraordinary, and it’s not sustainable. We are an exotic invader, and when an exotic invader comes along, no ecosystem can tolerate it.”
Despite his vehemence, the lateral thinking activist’s principles have been put to the test. but luckily he’s the stubborn type. “I’m in a relationship, and my partner wants to reproduce,” he says. “The decision is what people call a deal-breaker, and one of us had to compromise. We talked about it and eventually Kirsten did. She’s made the right decision.”
Whether Mr Knight’s lover will eventually tell him to ‘go forth and multiply’ remains to be seen.
Click here for VEHMT website
