Environmental Protection?
In India, every citizen has a constitutional duty to protect and enhance the environment. In a landmark Indian Supreme Court case in 1991 (M.C. Mehta v. Union of India), the Court held that this duty could not be satisfied unless citizens were educated about environmental issues. To this end, the Court set forth a number of requirements, including two environmental public service announcements per show at the movie theatre, and inclusion of the issues in all public school curriculum. In fact, it seems like the Indian government is more committed than the American government to environmental protection.
At least, that's how it seems on paper. I did not learn about the above case in India - there was no evidence of any pro-environment sentiment in Bombay (other than small posters along the roadways saying something to the effect of "Trees provide oxygen"). In fact, I just came across M.C. Mehta in my International Environmental Law textbook.
Far from being clean and well-maintained, Bombay is filthy. Trash is piled in the streets, the air is so polluted that my snot was permanently black, and the entire city smells of some strange combination of vomit, urine and decaying garbage. There are even "Please do not spit here" signs posted all over the city, because it's disturbingly common to see a man leaning over and spitting on the sidewalk or street every few minutes.
This environmentally-unfriendly mindset extended even to Mr. Sada, our own driver. One morning, a few of us walked down to Barista, a local coffee chain on the corner. Neema had requested plain black coffee, but the closest I could get for her was an Americano (repeating "drip coffee" over and over again was about as productive as it sounds). It was gross, she didn't drink it, and so handed it to Sharan in the car to place in a cupholder until we got to the office and could throw it away. Mr. Sada, trying to be helpful, stops the car, takes the cup, walks over to the curb ... and drops it in the gutter.
In a country with around 1 billion people, it's easy to see the need for public service announcements - however, India may have to strengthen its efforts before the message takes hold. One billion people produce a lot of garbage.
At least, that's how it seems on paper. I did not learn about the above case in India - there was no evidence of any pro-environment sentiment in Bombay (other than small posters along the roadways saying something to the effect of "Trees provide oxygen"). In fact, I just came across M.C. Mehta in my International Environmental Law textbook.
Far from being clean and well-maintained, Bombay is filthy. Trash is piled in the streets, the air is so polluted that my snot was permanently black, and the entire city smells of some strange combination of vomit, urine and decaying garbage. There are even "Please do not spit here" signs posted all over the city, because it's disturbingly common to see a man leaning over and spitting on the sidewalk or street every few minutes.
This environmentally-unfriendly mindset extended even to Mr. Sada, our own driver. One morning, a few of us walked down to Barista, a local coffee chain on the corner. Neema had requested plain black coffee, but the closest I could get for her was an Americano (repeating "drip coffee" over and over again was about as productive as it sounds). It was gross, she didn't drink it, and so handed it to Sharan in the car to place in a cupholder until we got to the office and could throw it away. Mr. Sada, trying to be helpful, stops the car, takes the cup, walks over to the curb ... and drops it in the gutter.
In a country with around 1 billion people, it's easy to see the need for public service announcements - however, India may have to strengthen its efforts before the message takes hold. One billion people produce a lot of garbage.
posted by Teale at 8:38 AM
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