Pollution-Free Environment a 'Fundamental Right', India's Top Court Says (msn.com) 15
Living in a pollution-free environment is a fundamental right, India's Supreme Court said on Wednesday as it urged authorities to address deteriorating air quality in the north of the country. From a report: India's capital Delhi recorded a "very poor" air quality index of 364 on Wednesday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board, which considers readings below 50 to be good. Swiss group IQAir rated Delhi the world's most polluted city in its live rankings. The city battles toxic air every winter and authorities say much of the smoke comes from farmers illegally burning paddy stubble to clear their fields in the neighbouring breadbasket states of Punjab and Haryana. The Supreme Court pulled up the governments of both states for taking "selective action" against stubble burning, saying penal provisions were not being properly implemented.
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It's also one of the most polluted place on the planet (though China may well be worse).
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It's also one of the most polluted place on the planet (though China may well be worse).
I don't think anything in China beats the state of the Ganges River right now.
The good news is that in India, pollution is one side effect of the massive population, and some of that will fix itself as their birthrate has now fallen below replacement level. It'll take a few decades, but things will inevitably clean up as fewer people take up better living standards.
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The good news is that in India, pollution is one side effect of the massive population, and some of that will fix itself as their birthrate has now fallen below replacement level. It'll take a few decades, but things will inevitably clean up as fewer people take up better living standards.
Alternatively, it will improve as soon as the Indian government deregulates and allows industry to flourish, thus making Indians wealthy enough to afford a cleaner environment. In a funny coincidence, I was reading an article by Bryan Caplan [betonit.ai], who just returned from India. One of his not-so-polite observations was Indian cities are filthy. Having been to Bangalore once, I concur, they're not Toronto or Tokyo. He further observed that Indian economic development is really held back by insane levels of regulat
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Well this should be fun (Score:3)
1) Any animal activity - not just human activity involving our technology - creates pollution.
2) India is pretty fucking filthy - this according to an Indian friend of mine from northeast of New Delhi, who absolutely loves living here under a blue sky.
They're legislating a right they can't possibly grant in any meaningful way in a reasonable timeframe, and is absolutely impossible to satisfy in an absolute literal sense no matter the time and effort invested.
Rather than calling it a right, simply start legislating pollution reduction measures until things are clean enough that health issues from artificial pollution are no worse than those from natural pollution. That should take a few generations at least.
Uh what about the ground? (Score:3)
India could use a massive overhaul in its environment and cleanliness. Just behaviorally, culturally, and the streets are so nasty looking. They seriously need major sewage reworking. Hygiene of street vendors could use a huge reform. I mean they never use utensils or implements. Even when they use gloves the gloves are dirty because they touch everywhere with gloves. That’s why India has a high morbidity and infectious disease rate. Reference: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/a... [nih.gov] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/a... [nih.gov]