India ranks in another List!
Though I do not want to poke at where we stand, India stands in another worst list! Apart from population, AIDS patients and number of uneducated people, India is now amongst the world’s top polluters list! But this time around it has got some great friends like USA, Russia, China and Japan (this small country should start working so many hours – bad joke!).
However, the per capita pollution in India is by any means far … far from that of USA’s or Russia’s. That is the only saving part. One can understand why USA is polluted (domestic emissions including car pollution) or why Japan, Russia & China are polluted (industrial emissions). It is something of a surprise that India should accompany them in that list.
But thanks to the IT revolution and the kind of life style changes it has brought in India, pollution in India is still a factor that we need to understand fully (sorry no blaming IT revolution..but it did revolutionize the way we live). While metros and the bigger cities are obviously polluted, we need to understand why there areas that are far from these cities also polluted. (Eg: Sunderbans, Hill Stations, Beaches)
Another bigger problem for India is distributing the development of places throughout the country so as to reduce too much pollution at few places. But that means deforestation, which in itself a reason for more pollution! In order to contain deforestation, the government will need to contain population growth, which is almost impossible.
Not to forget, India along with its neighbors, by the virtue of its geographic location, has to pay for turmoil brought about by sea pollution carried out unhindered by Western countries.
But the joke is that after all the ‘development’ carried out by the various countries, suddenly a ‘developing’ country like India is asked to ‘check’ its emission. Though the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) appointed by UN wanted the world to be a better place, the timing of such a statement could be detrimental for Indian’s growth, if India has the same kind of policies.
In the end what kind of measures will India need to take to check pollution under control is going to be a huuuuge factor. Is the Indian leadership good enough to tackle such issues while most politicians are facing charges in the courts of laws?
God help India. But then in the mean time it is the common man who suffers the diseases, the farmer who suffers the losses, for whom it seems that the government is working for.
On the lighter side… “We have been ranked again with the biggies”
)
But seriously, It would be a boon for India if it controls the emission levels at this point (where the country is still developing and not a developed country). It would give India a change to grow more organically than its counterparts. Countries like USA and Russia have grown to an extent where its hard for them to control the emission levels. Thats the reason you see these countries listed year after year on the list of highest polluters.
So, better late than never.. India should start keeping a check on the pollution and take necessary actions where ever feasible.
- Cheers
Sidd
8 May 07 at 3:47 am
POLLUTION – big word.
polluting ATMOSPHERE is possible in two ways
pollutiong the core – and superficial pollution
one should watch award winning doccumentry AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH to understand the seriousness of the problem – pollution and GLOBAL WARMING – the result of pollution.
forget the figures released by media – lets look at the issue in a way common man(one who is not femiliar with the stats) looks at it.
crbon emmission in air by vehicles –
an avarage family in US owns 4 cars.
its too much an achievement for a family to own a car in india.
deforestration -
most of the residential buildings in US are made of timber(by cutting woods) . everybody knows US is very strict in preserving its forests to maintain good micro climet.(fuckers cut entire south america showing some dollars in poor mans pocket)
india cant efford wooden structures
if cutting down trees for construction is wat we call deforestration – we are wrong
in a place like auroville – one tree is cut per day and five are planted . regulations dosent allow to cut planted ones before certain age of the tree .. so any given time the balance is maintained by 4 time the existing greenery.
is US doing the same in south america.
core pollution -mining – heavy infrastructural projects-
who else dose most of these (every one knows)
poor indians do a very superficial pollution which actually contributes very less to global warming when compared to core pollution done by US.
srikanth
17 Apr 08 at 6:04 am
by the way …the famous RAMASETHU issue .
ppl fought on cristian commenting on hindus sacred god rama .
the very sacred bridge to be demolished by cristian led government in a very relegious (hindu) state like tamilnadu.
the reason government came up wid is TO REDUCE FUEL CONSUMED BY VESSELS .
and the actual reason—- which every one who reads frontline knows –
if the connection between srilanka and india is broken down to cetain depth , waters become international waters — and US can get permission from UNO to mine huge mineral deposits in the tip of penunsula WHICH ARE NOT TOUCHED BY INDIAN GOVERNMENT DUE TO LACK OF INFRASTRUCTURE.
so now we know who provokes the activity of pollution arround the world .
srikanth
17 Apr 08 at 6:23 am