Tata Nano Is to Debut in October; What Will Be the Impact on Indians and the Earth?
The Tata Nano, the cheapest car in the world, is to make its appearance on the streets of India Oct. 1.
A blurb in October’s The Atlantic monthly magazine in the United States raises the obvious concern: A $2,500 car made available in the world’s second most populous nation (approx. 1.1 billion) spells a nightmare for the environment.
This year, in particular, Beijing’s rush to modernization has raised much debate and fretting about what the impact of a 1 Billion-plus society just getting onto its wheels will be on the planet as a whole. Many critics have pooh-poohed the Chinese for the damage we scarcely can visualize is on its way.
Just think, the United States, a country of 300 million people uses 25 percent of the Earth’s oil, and all of the consequences that accompany that. China, a country of more than 1.5 billion people, has been kept out of the candy store for so long and are finally getting the keys to paradise.
- » See also: Delhi’s Air Pollution Levels Rising Again
- » Get EcoWorldly by RSS or sign up by email.
Now, enter a second country of similarly staggering population coming out of similarly impoverished, candy-absent circumstances.
New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman has been writing and talking a lot of late about this very conundrum.
He repeats an anecdote, from news show to news show, about young Chinese complaining to him: Don’t tell us we can’t do it. You Americans have had so long to drive, to do all kinds of things that damage the atmosphere. Now it’s our turn.
My questions are these:
How do we morally balance the progress India is excitedly pursuing, something we Americans and other “modern” Westerners have long had, with the idea that their step up to a more mobile society will damage our Earth?
How do we reconcile our wealth (a relative term for sure) and selfishness for our own progress and convenience and comfort with the idea that others, particularly others who are trying to escape the mire of stagnation, shouldn’t be afforded the same opportunities?
If Americans won’t step to the plate to become Earth-friendly, how or why should Indians — or anyone else?
Image: TvKimi, via GNU Free Documentation License
