What’s wrong about our Environment? ~ World Of Words

Recently I read a gloomy news about India’s environment & I had to write about it. I came across 2014 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), a report by Yale University of United States, which says India ranks 155th out of 176 countries, in its efforts to address environmental challenges. India performs the worst among other emerging economies including, China, which ranks 118th, Brazil, at 77th, Russia, at 73rd, and South Africa at 72nd. A bottom performer on nearly every policy issue included in the 2014 EPI, with the exception of forests, fisheries, and water resources, India’s performance lags most notably in the protection of human health from environmental harm. In particular, India’s air quality is among the worst in the world, tying China in terms of the proportion of the population exposed to average air pollution levels exceeding World Health Organization thresholds.

India's Performance in 2014 EPI

This is disturbing not only because we did worst in EPI but also because the government, Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), doesn’t seem to care much about our Environment. It seems like Environment is the last thing on their mind.

The Bad:

Environmental Clearances:

Recently Speaking to Frontline, a magazine by The Hindu, Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister for Rural Development, pointed out that, he does not “buy this argument that delayed environmental clearances of mega projects are responsible for the economic slowdown.”

But Mr. Jairam Ramesh is not the minister of Environment & Forest anymore, Mr. M. Veerappa Moily is and he recently cleared 73 projects worth Rs.1.8 lakh crore within three weeks of assuming charge at the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). Some major projects which Mr. Moily recently cleared include POSCO steel plant in Odisha, 520 megawatt Teesta project in Sikkim and Stage I in-principle forest clearance to the 800 MW Tawang II project in Arunachal Pradesh. Also, according to a note issued by the MoEF on January 22, 2014, the final clearance for the Lakhwar multipurpose hydroelectric power project on the Yamuna in Uttarakhand is also on the anvil.

And you know what, all this is to make a point to the corporate sector that UPA is “investor-friendly”, possibly more than Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Air Quality:

Recently released Global Burden of Disease 2013, which tracks deaths and illnesses from all causes every 10 years, says outdoor air pollution caused 6.2 premature deaths in India in 2010, which is a six-fold jump from the 1 lakh deaths in 2000. This makes polluted outdoor air the largest killer in India after high blood pressure, indoor air pollution (mainly from smoking chullahs), tobacco use, and poor nutrition. What is even more disturbing is that of the 180 cities monitored by India’s Central Pollution Control Board in 2012, only two -- Malapuram and Pathanamthitta in Kerala -- meet the criteria of low air pollution (50% below the standard).

Courtesy of Hindustantimes.com

According to 2014 EPI, India has the worst quality of Air in the world. Delhi, the heart and soul of India, has the highest particulate matter 2.5 pollution levels followed by Beijing. Take pride my fellow Indians, we have finally beaten the Chinese!

Iron Ore Mining clearances:

According to report given by Shah Commission, 94 of the 192 iron ore in mining leases in Odisha do not have the mandatory environmental clearances and of the 96 that have them, 75 have mined far beyond their permitted levels over the past several years. The Shah Commission also held that both the Central government authorities and the Odisha government is responsible for the wide-ranging illegal mining that has continued unchecked for years.

The Good:

The Supreme Court recently issued notices to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and 19 other state governments on the situation of critical conditions of polluted clusters which continue to remain polluted despite pollution control norms.

What we can do about it?

To be very honest, nothing. No, seriously, you can't do anything. It’s the GOI which is supposed to take care of our environment right? It’s their job not ours right? It’s the policy makers’ job right? And even if we had anything to say, the government won't listen to us right?

WRONG.

In an article on Nature, An international weekly journal on science, Qiang Wang says,

“Solutions must come from ordinary citizens, who can take responsibility for their environment and express it daily in choices such as riding bicycles or taking public transportation instead of driving.”

I couldn't agree more. The fundamental truth is, we, as citizens of India, are as much responsible for pollution of our environment as the GOI and industries. We Indians can't point fingers at our government for not doing anything until we stop -- throwing trash in the rivers, the streets, public parks, out of the windows ourselves. We need to stop defecating on the sidewalks, the railroads. Our environment is not gonna get any better if we choose to ignore our duties as citizens. It’s time we take responsibility as citizens of India. It's time we start building toilets if we don't have any. It's time we throw trash in trash cans. When we ourselves, are fighting to protect our environment, only then we can expect our government to do the same. Ok, now suppose we have done our part, what's next? Should we start asking questions to our government? I say, yes. Should we start protesting on the streets? I say, why the hell not.

But what if our government doesn't listen to our concerns?

Don't forget what Abraham Lincoln had to say about Democracy,

“This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or exercise their revolutionary right to overthrow it.”

We, as citizens of a Democracy, have the right to amend government policies or to overthrow the government and establish the one which fights for our environment. Remember that the government works for us and not the other way around.

Finally, I have a photo to share with you all which tells a different story if we change the bigger fish -- the government or its citizens. The bigger fish can be our government or it can be normal citizens. The choice is yours.

The individually small citizens can combine to fight back the big repressive government!

Further reading:

This topic is wide and I had to read for an entire day to gather the data mentioned in the above article. But since it’s a major issue, I decided to post some of the quality readings for readers who want to know more about the concerned issue.

Written By Rishikesh Pande

World Of Words

"Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." - Forest Gump

Monday, 10 February 2014

What’s wrong about our Environment?

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