+
Heroes

Climate change is so scary, it's making these women reconsider having children.

This summer, I attended a totally unusual baby party.

Instead of the typical banter about burping and baby food, this one had less of that and more of ... well, prospective parents gathering to discuss whether or not it still makes sense to have kids these days.


GIF via "Friends."

The decision to have a baby can be stressful. There's the money, there's having to, y'know, feed them and teach them stuff, there's staying up late, there's the money again. Having kids. It's kind of a big deal.

But for some people, there's another, perhaps less obvious, concern about bringing a child into the world.

The prospective parents at this party had one thing in common. They were all sincerely worried about climate change making the world unlivable for their children.

That's why Josephine Ferorelli and Meghan Kallman, two women of childbearing age, came up with the idea for Conceivable Future house parties. They couldn't stop thinking about the challenges climate change might pose for their children. Now that might sound overboard, but it's a legitimate concern.

So Josephine and Meghan started throwing these house parties for women and men who hadn't had kids yet — like a baby shower but without the tiny socks — to give people a chance to explore their complicated feelings about the whole situation.

So far, they've held a half dozen parties in homes, movie theaters, summer camps, and community centers from Seattle to New York City, with six more in the works.

“I've been conflicted about having children, and one of the main reasons is the question of what kind of world I'm going to will to that child," says Meghan Kallman, one of the organizers, in a video for the project.

She remembers her own niece being born during a heat wave two years ago and thinking that things just didn't feel normal in the world. And for what it's worth, 2014 was the hottest year on record, and now 2015 is set to beat that record, so this isn't just theoretical. Some people are sincerely scared, and this group gives those people a chance to voice their worries.

Climate change is happening. But these people want to make a difference.

At each party, attendees are invited to record their own testimony, and you can listen to many of them online. The stories are meant to show that the reason so many people care about climate change isn't about winning a political fight, or moral superiority, or even saving the very cute but far-away polar bears.

The real reason is because people love and want to look out for their families and children — and there's nothing sweeter than that. (Except tiny chocolate cupcakes with rainbow sprinkles, which I hear are served at all the best baby showers. Ahem.)

So what do the people running Conceivable Future want?

They want the U.S. government to stop subsidies to oil companies, which are creating pollution that contributes to climate change and endangering the futures of our hypothetical children. (It kind of reminds me of the plot line of “Knocked Up," when Katherine Heigl's character basically tells Seth Rogen's character he can't raise a kid with her if he's going to be high all the time. But, on a planetary scale. C'mon, Washington, pull your weight around here!)

Check out Meghan's video testimony, and ask yourself what kind of world you would like to see your children living in.

What we do now could make a difference for generations to come.

Sponsored

ACUVUE launches a new campaign to inspire Gen Z to put down their phones and follow their vision

What will you create on your social media break? Share it at #MyVisionMySight.

True

If you’ve always lived in a world with social media, it can be tough to truly understand how it affects your life. One of the best ways to grasp its impact is to take a break to see what life is like without being tethered to your phone and distracted by a constant stream of notifications.

Knowing when to disconnect is becoming increasingly important as younger people are becoming aware of the adverse effects screen time can have on their eyes. According to Eyesafe Nielsen, adults are now spending 13-plus hours a day on their digital devices, a 35% increase from 2019.1. Many of us now spend more time staring at screens on a given day than we do sleeping which can impact our eye health.

Normally, you blink around 15 times per minute, however, focusing your eyes on computer screens or other digital displays have been shown to reduce your blink rate by up to 60%.2 Reduced blinking can destabilize your eyes’ tear film, causing dry, tired eyes and blurred vision.3

Keep ReadingShow less
Joy

18-year-old took her college savings and bought the restaurant where she was a dishwasher

Samantha Frye, the newest owner of Rosalie's restaurant, is proving there's more than one way to invest in your future.

Canva

There are many way to invest in your future

Eighteen year old Samantha Frye has traded college life for entrepreneurship, and she has no regrets.

Frye began working at Rosalie's Restaurant in Strasburg, Ohio at 16 as a dishwasher, working up the ranks as a kitchen prep, server, then line cook. All while working a second job, sometimes third job.

After graduating high school, Frye started college at Ohio State with plans of studying business or environmental engineering. But when she came back to work a shift at Rosalie’s for winter break, an opportunity arose—the owners had planned to sell the restaurant.
Keep ReadingShow less

She is simply the best.

The explosive, soulful, magnetic Tina Turner has died at 83. Though the cause of her death was not disclosed, a statement on her Instagram announced that the prolific singer and legendary live performer has passed away at her home in Küsnacht, Switzerland, near Zurich.

News of the devastating loss has prompted an outpouring of tributes on social media, including celebrities sharing how much Turner’s work has influenced them.

Angela Bassett, who portrayed the music icon in the 1993 biopic “What's Love Got to Do with It,” said in a statement that she was "honored to have known Tina Turner."

"Through her courage in telling her story, her commitment to stay the course in her life, no matter the sacrifice, and her determination to carve out a space in rock and roll for herself and for others who look like her," Bassett wrote on Instagram, "Tina Turner showed others who lived in fear what a beautiful future filled with love, compassion, and freedom should look like."

Keep ReadingShow less
via Pexels

A woman sitting cross-legged on a yoga mat

Everyone wants to know how long they will live and there are many indicators that can show whether someone is thriving or on the decline. But people have yet to develop a magic formula to determine exactly how long someone should expect to live.

However, a doctor recently featured on the "Today" show says a straightforward test can reveal the likelihood that someone aged 51 to 80 will die in the near future.

NBC News medical contributor Dr. Natalie Azar was on the "Today" show on March 8 and demonstrated how to perform the simple “sit to stand test” (aka sit-rising test or SRT) that can help determine the longevity of someone between 51 to 80.

Keep ReadingShow less
via Twitter

Everyone's childhood is different. But there are common objects, sights, sounds, smells, and memories from elementary school that most Gen Xers and Millenials share.

Personally, when i think back to being in elementary school in the '80s, I remember the taste of the chocolate ship cookie we got on Fridays (with the pizza). The humiliation of getting nailed in the back during nation ball. And the grumbling, grinding sound that happened when you slipped a disk into the drive on an Apple IIe computer.

Keep ReadingShow less
Health

Women are shocking their boyfriends by showing them how  tampons actually work

The viral videos are a great way to educate men on a sensitive topic.

via TikTok

Menstrual taboos are as old as time and found across cultures. They've been used to separate women from men physically — menstrual huts are still a thing — and socially, by creating the perception that a natural bodily function is a sign of weakness.

Even in today's world women are deemed unfit for positions of power because some men actually believe they won't be able to handle stressful situations while mensurating.

"Menstruation is an opening for attack: a mark of shame, a sign of weakness, an argument to keep women out of positions of power,' Colin Schultz writes in Popular Science.

Keep ReadingShow less

Editor's Note: Upworthy earns a fee for products featured in this article. All products featured meet Upworthy's standards for ethics and quality.


Superfoods have been stealing the spotlight in the health and wellness scene for quite some time now. But did you know their magic isn't just confined to your smoothie bowls or salads? They're making a grand entrance into the beauty industry, with their nutrient-dense powers promising radiant, glowing skin from the outside in.

Keep ReadingShow less