there is a saying "let India

Terry (the car finder) Bolton — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 14:23:17 -0500

there is a saying "let India for indians" they have a lot of problems ; let them solve it by themselves.i think they can!

hypocrisy - you are right

Sebastian — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 09:23:05 -0400

I think you are absolutely right. I also understand that the emerging markets don't want ro reduce their pollution in a way the "big players" tell them to. On the other hand - there has to be a reduction, what can we do? I don"t know.

Article Slams $3000 "People's Car"

Rob Katz — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 17:33:11 -0400

Ironically, as Nitin posted his piece on the $3000 1-lakh car, I came across this article, Just What Overcrowded, Polluted India Didn't Need - The $3000 Car, in The Independent.

Well, we never said it wasn't controversial. In fact, the whole thing gives me pause. On the one hand, who are we - especially when "we" means Western environmentalists - to tell others that they shouldn't enjoy the same luxuries we do? In this case, environmentalists rightly point out that increasing the number of cars on the road in India will dramatically increase the amount of greenhouse gas emissions going into the atmosphere. But the West's own automotive revolution - started early last century - is a major culprit in the dramatic growth of global warming. Sounds like a case of hypocrisy.

On the other hand, it's pretty clear that India's headed down an unsustainable path if it keeps this up. The road infrastructure can't handle it - traffic in New Dehli is evidently among the worst in the world - and air quality is quickly tracking from bad to worse.

Obviously, good public transport is better than putting more cars on the road, in the long run. But the social status implications of 4 wheels vs. 2/3 wheels vs. public transport is huge. As the article mentions, buying a car is an aspirational purchase, and taking the bus may soon be seen as a low-class activity.

I'm not going to weigh in here - I'm very conflicted myself. But I will reflect on a little American history by way of commentary.

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NextBillion.net - Development Through Enterprise - Article Slams $3000 "People's Car" - Comments

there is a saying "let India

hypocrisy - you are right

Article Slams $3000 "People's Car"