Forget "Think of the Children!", try "Think of the Environment!"

Divorce is not just a family matter. It exacts a serious toll on the environment by boosting the energy and water consumption of those who used to live together, according to a study by two Michigan State University researchers.

The analysis found that cohabiting couples and families around the globe use resources more efficiently than households that have split up. The researchers calculated that in 2005, divorced American households used between 42 and 61 percent more resources per person than before they separated, spending 46 percent more per person on electricity and 56 percent more on water.

But be careful, as your partner may just reply "I've found someone new":

"There's strong evidence, which emerges clearly in this paper, that merging what otherwise would be separate households will reduce energy and other resource needs," Cavanagh wrote in an e-mail. "The best advice to those who are miserable together is not, however, to avoid divorce for the sake of the environment, but to find someone else as quickly as possible."

Via Jonathan Adler at Volokh.