“The root cause of pollution is poverty; unless we eradicate poverty, we will never be able to control pollution,” my professor proclaimed emphatically.
“You can see the garbage and dirt piled around these shanties and chawls. These places stink like anything,” he continued, supporting his statement.
I was wondering, though I didn’t say anything. Deep inside, I knew the truth was nowhere near this statement. Sometimes, it’s better not to argue when there is nothing to be gained. You might win the argument, but you will never make the other person believe you.
In reality, the truth is quite the opposite. Have you ever tried to analyze those garbage piles? In any random check, you will find used cosmetic bottles, empty packets of chips, cans of Coke and Pepsi, and so on. These poor people hardly use such things. So how do they end up there? The people who are struggling just to make a living, barely managing to survive, cannot afford to buy those products. These piles are our contribution—the contribution of people who unsuccessfully try to satiate the voracious hunger of consumerism.
We use these products, and then we use these places as dumping grounds for our sins—the byproducts of our carnal consumption. We want to keep our own neighborhoods clean and beautiful, so we need a place to dump our garbage. And those places, unfortunately, are often the homes of the poor.
If you consider carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) as major threats to the environment, the main culprits are not the poor but us—the affluent. The amount of pollutants released by a single jet or Boeing aircraft, used to facilitate the journey of a handful of people, is several times higher than all the pollutants generated by a poor family in their entire lifetime. The poor, living such simple lives, do not use cars, refrigerators, or air conditioners.
When a new car manufacturing plant is established, it might boost the economy and make GDP, GNP, and growth rates look impressive. But it also deprives some people of their land and their right to breathe clean, healthy air. Economists may talk about “offsetting the social cost,” but can we really offset it? No. While the cost is direct and immediate, the supposed benefits trickle through a long, complex channel—and usually dry up midway, never reaching the people for whom they are intended.
The mushrooming bottling plants for Coke and Pepsi are not built for the poor. They don’t need them—they are content with water. Yet those who drink Coke and Pepsi ensure that the poor are deprived of their water. These water-guzzling plants lower the groundwater level and force nearby communities to suffer.
The poor never pollute. It’s the rich who pollute—and make the poor suffer. They pollute and then proclaim, brazenly, that poverty is the cause of pollution.
Tags: Poverty, Blogs, Pollution
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