'Science Guy' Bill Nye Sparks Outrage for Suggesting Penalties to American Families With 'Extra Kids'
The "Science Guy" Bill Nye found himself getting blasted and ridiculed after suggesting a "grotesque" solution to overpopulation and climate change.
On the season finale of "Bill Nye Saves the World," entitled "Earth's People Problem," the former children show star suggested that American families ought to be penalized for having "extra kids," according to the Gospel Herald.
Nye made his suggestion after one of his panelists, Travis Rieder from Johns Hopkins University, noted that children in developed countries use 160 times more resources than children in the developing world.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Nye then asked Rieder if it would be a good idea to have the government penalize having "extra kids."
"I do think we should at least consider it," Rieder replied.
"Well, 'at least consider it' is like, 'do it,'" Nye remarked.
However, Dr. Rachel Snow, chief of population development at the United Nations Population Fund, who was also on the panel, slammed the suggestion.
"I would take issue with the idea that we do anything to incentivize fewer children or more children," she said. "I think it's all about ... human rights. People should have the number of children they want ... and if some families have five or six children, God bless them. That's fine. But most people end up with fewer."
Nye immediately drew brickbats online with his comments, with many accusing him of promoting eugenics and abortion.
"The replacement level fertility rate is 2.1 children per woman—something that most of the developed world hasn't seen in years," wrote Town Hall reporter Christine Rousselle. "It's downright spooky and chilling to say that parents should be 'penalized' for daring to expand their families. If anything, one would think that parents should be encouraged to have more children."
Nate Madden of the Conservative Review described Nye's suggestion as "grotesque," noting that the debate over the science of the weather is still ongoing. "If Bill Nye were truly the kind of 'science guy' he claims to be, he would acknowledge this debate," Madden wrote.
Some countries already penalize large families—with horrifying results.
The New York Times noted that 35 years after China implemented its one-child policy, the Asian giant is now reeling from that policy's adverse effects on traditional family structures. The policy has also led to a "widening imbalance in the number of men and women, one that could sow social unrest," the news outlet said.
While some nations want to curb their population, many others are having problems increasing their national manpower.
In Japan, experts warn that the nation's declining birth rate could lead to various problems, including a feared economic downturn, according to the BBC.
Faced with the same problem, the Spanish government has appointed a "sex czar" to address the country's plunging population.
The rest of Europe and even America are also facing their own depopulation problems.
