Ideal Bite

So, I noticed that someone else beat me to the punch so I'll just reiterate...Natural Family Planning/Fertility Awareness is so much greener (not to mention better for you body - and some say your relationship!) Of course those methods do kind of expect you to be in a committed, monogamous relationship so you don't have to worry about STDs/STIs.
And Gina, NFP is NOT the rhythm method. Not even close. If you are truly interested in learning about it, check out Couple to Couple League or Creighton Model or just google "Natural Family Planning". Yes, most of the sites you'll find are geared towards a religious audience, but that doesn't mean you can't learn something.

I am very concerned about this article about being green and applying it to so called overpopulation. People who study statistics know for a fact that to have a successful replacement population for a work force, that a family size should average 2.1 children per family. Many of the countries in the EU have 1.2 or less. China with it's "ONE CHILD Policy" has a 1.5 children/family. Our good old USA our average family size is 1.6 births per couple, but thanks to immigration mostly from Latin America, we are at 2.1. Our Earth is not dealing with overpopulation that has been spewed on us for decades, but UNDERpopulation. We have to wake up. Look at Social Security and Medicare, they will be bankrupt in a decade or so. We have aborted over 55 million children since Roe v Wade in 1973. All those children would now be in the work force and giving to Social Security and Medicare keeping is solvent for decades and paying taxes that would have provided the funds for our state and federal governments. We are aborting, sterilizing and contracepting our world society into oblivion. Who have we lost from this "Culture of Death" that Pope John Paul II coined, scientists that could have solved our energy crisis, cures for many life threatening diseases, or even found a ecological means of feeding our world society. It's time to wake up.

Please cancel me from your list........I have been sending these tips to my children but after this one..........forget it.

The biggest obstacle we face in changing attitudes toward overpopulation is economists. Since the field of economics was branded "the dismal science" after Malthus' theory, economists have been adamant that they would never again consider the subject of overpopulation and continue to insist that man is ingenious enough to overcome any obstacle to further growth. This is why world leaders continue to ignore population growth in the face of mounting challenges like peak oil, global warming and a whole host of other environmental and resource issues. They believe we'll always find technological solutions that allow more growth. But because they are blind to population growth, there's one obstacle they haven't considered: the finiteness of space available on earth. The very act of using space more efficiently creates a problem for which there is no solution: it inevitably begins to drive down per capita consumption and, consequently, per capita employment, leading to rising unemployment and poverty. If you‘re interested in learning more about this important new economic theory, then I invite you to visit either of my web sites at OpenWindowPublishingCo.com or PeteMurphy.wordpress.com where you can read the preface, join in the blog discussion and, of course, buy the book if you like. Please forgive the somewhat spammish nature of the previous paragraph, but I don't know how else to inject this new theory into the debate about overpopulation without drawing attention to the book that explains the theory. Pete Murphy Author, "Five Short Blasts"

I do believe this is the first green tips website I've ever seen that dared to address the elephant in the room - overpopulation. Most of us greenies are afraid to go there, even though population growth is undoing every good green deed done. Bravo. Very well done! Dave Gardner Producing the documentary Hooked on Growth: Our Misguided Quest for Prosperity Join the cause at www.growthbusters.com See our Population Solution PSA

I am so glad to see someone mention the issue of over population. It's a real problem.

Natural Family Planning (NFP) is safe, healthy, and effective. Good for your body and the environment. NFP is 99% effective at postponing pregnancy. That's more effective than condoms and as effective as the Pill. btw, people who follow the rhythm method are called "parents".

NFP is the answer. If you do not agree, than maybe you should consider abstinance. That's 100%!

Couple of points for clarification. Lauren D is correct - Sheer Dams are not the same as a female condom. However, Sheer Dams are not a dental dam and a dental dam is not a Sheer Dam. 2 completely different products for 2 different applications. Sheer Glyde Dams are the only latex barrier that has been cleared by the US Food & Drug Administration as a preventative measure for the transmission of STDs for safe oral sex. Any product sold for that purpose and is marketed as a Dental Dam is probably just cut up latex and has not been tested or proven or have FDA clearance to market. Sheer Glyde Dams are also vegan approved.

A few points for clarification on this matter and the fact that our condoms http://www.frenchlettercondoms.co.uk are mentioned in the above article. Yes with regards to the matter of overpopulation is concerned Natural Family Planning (NFP) is a good idea or even abstinence But condoms do far more than stop pregnancy they help prevent the spread of STI’s and HIV. Are condoms are fairtrade which means the latex is harvested under fairtrade conditions and for everyone sold we give back a premium to the plantation farmers and improve living and working conditions. Are condoms are both vegan safe and farmed under FSC conditions in fact it was the premium we pay for the latex that enabled the plantation owners to achieve FSC status. With regard to condoms being biodegradable they are a natural product so as long as they are disposed of correctly they well degrade (do not flush condoms down the toilet as water preserves latex) As for a younger audience reading this article it depends on what age are you talking about but with the highest raise in 7 years of under 16’s becoming pregnant, abortion in under 16’s at an all time high and that 92 million Chlamydia infections happen each year then a teenager should know about safe sex and what better way than an ethical way