Two Australian medical academics made world headlines this week by endorsing a Chinese model of population control to reduce the human carbon footprint. Barry Walters, a professor of obstetrics at the University of Western Australia, has called for a carbon tax on newborns in the Medical Journal of Australia. "Every newborn baby in Australia represents a potent source of greenhouse gas emissions for an average of 80 years, not simply by breathing, but by the profligate consumption of resources typical of our society," says Walters.

His solution? A "baby levy" of A$5,000 on third and subsequent children, plus an annual tax of A$400 to A$800 annually for the life of the child to purchase and maintain the four hectares of trees needed to sequester 17 metric tons of carbon dioxide. As offsets, carbon credits would be granted for contraceptives, intrauterine devices, diaphragms, condoms and sterilisation procedures. The credits would go to the user and to "family planning clinics and hospitals that provide such greenhouse-friendly services".

Walters's proposal was warmly endorsed by one of Australia's best-known medical personalities, Garry Egger, the founder of the Gutbusters program to reduce male obesity, and a professor of health sciences at Southern Cross University. "One must wonder why population control, which was such a popular topic during the 1970s, is spoken of today only in whispers," he wrote. ~ Medical Journal of Australia, Dec 3