(TheProudRepublic.com) – Kamala Harris’ climate change aide for her 2024 presidential campaign shared her childfree views as she revealed that an alleged threat of widespread environmental destruction is a reason to avoid having children.
In 2022, Camila Thorndike stated that her worries about climate change have influenced her decision not to have children.
“It’s coming partly from a place of love for my hypothetical child,” she said.
“I want to protect them from suffering. Not that life is ever free from suffering, but…what of the joys and peace and goodness that make me happiest to be alive will be accessible in 20, 30, 40 years?” she added.
Thorndike, who has a background in the left-wing environmental movement, joined Harris’s campaign after working in senior roles at Rewiring America, a non-profit focused on climate and electrification.
Moreover, Thorndike’s concerns reflect a broader trend among younger, progressive environmentalists who worry about the planet’s future.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), a leading voice in youth progressivism, said in 2019 that it is a “legitimate question” whether to have children given the current climate crisis.
A February Ipsos survey found that 9% of U.S. adults aged 18-35 have delayed having children because of climate change. A review of 13 studies by researchers at University College London showed that climate change concerns are linked to a lower desire to have children.
In addition, the growing sense of “climate anxiety” is being studied extensively, with research focusing on the deep concerns young people feel about climate predictions.
This has even led to a niche within psychology where “climate-aware” therapists help people cope with the mental health effects of climate fears.
With Pennsylvania being a key state, Harris has recently shifted her stance on environmental issues.
She now opposes a fracking ban, reversing her previous position, and has stated she does not support an electric-vehicle mandate, which is a significant part of Biden’s policies and a major environmental demand.
However, her decision to hire Thorndike indicates that she will likely remain open to strong environmentalist actions.
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