Cancer the No.1 killer in China

I don't know if I can ever be like Alex. I remember how he wrote to me once that he hates development that is against the environment. We were discussing about industrialization and its after effects. That was in reply to my mail which was all about the once-beautiful tree-lined roads in Bangalore.Wide roads or narrow roads lined with shady trees? The Government does give options to choose from!

I am happy to drive on a wide road. Especially during peak hours, as I find my way through the hustle and bustle of the City, I thank the Government for its attempts to ease traffic. That is why I say I can't be like Alex. Who has kept to his beliefs, who has stood by his convictions for more than decades now. He is well into his retirement and has never owned a car to date! Wherever he goes to, he uses only public transport. Recently he was in Bangalore, Madurai, Trivandrum and Alleppey. Spent 10 days in toto and traveled only by Public transport.

To my knowledge what the Government does in Bangalore (and in many other Cities as well) is to say the least, very myopic.They widen the roads. Whatever comes in the way is mercilessly chopped. They build flyovers. Build and rebuild highways. And, then, once traffic becomes intense on the highways, they build flyovers over them and call them elevated highways.

I remember how Air, the cycling movement started by an enterprising Bangalorean struggled to reach the Government to influence them to think about cycling lanes. Air and its members tried their best to influence policy making. We cycled often and with key people like CEOs of reputed companies, got written about and spoken about in mainstream media. This was 10 years back. And look where we are now. Nowhere.

Talk about Industrialization and we end up in China. A marketer-friend of mine once went to China to identify vendors for her Company's road-navigation device. She came back and said she almost fainted seeing the condition of sweat shops in China. They did seem like really down the value chain, deep down!

Is China myopic about development? About industrialization? We are not talking about road widening here. We are talking about Cancer in China. With 25% of deaths attributed to Cancer, that too lung cancer, can China continue to aid and abet its coal-fired power plants and numerous factories that spew the most poisonous gases?

"By pursuing economic growth above all else, China is sacrificing the health of its people, ultimately risking future prosperity." This is just an excerpt from China's own Earth Policy Institute. The usual plagues of poverty- infectious diseases and infant mortality have given way to diseases of the affluent cities- they go on to say.

I am forced to agree with Alex and his tribe. As China continues its march towards Industrialization, what we realize is that the No. 1 killer in China is also the No. 1 contributor to global warming. Burning Coal. We come back to the same old belief that what is not good for our bodies is not good for the environment either. 

How about a ride on Dandelions?

I nearly picturized it. It must be beautiful. To drive a Car made from Dandelions! What a perfect timing to talk about this ubiquitious weed than these days of Spring. Dandelions here, Dandelions there and Dandelions everywhere. But who thought of putting them to better use than the mundane.

I have stepped on a few Dandelion heads. Not intentionally. But, by mistake. I have plucked the flowers. And played with my son; blowing the withering heads. But, never did I think about making a Car with them. May be, a bouquet of flowers at best. I am not an automobile manufacturer. Definitely not an automobile company feeling guilty about its Carbon footprint. Or trying to score brownie points with the larger masses. Or, to give them the benefit of doubt, a company genuinely trying to reduce its Carbon footprint.

Ford has been at it for awhile now. Delving deep into the Dandelion weeds to see if they qualify as plastic modifiers which can be employed in car manufacture. Have you ever stepped on a Dandelion root? Well, if you do, you will see a milky white substance similar to rubber which could be put to better use. Of course, it has to meet certain durability standards as well.

Sounds gimmicky? It did initially. But then I went on to read about their  soy foam seat cushions, wheat straw-filled plastic, recycled resins for underbody systems, recycled yarns on seat covers and natural-fiber plastic for interior components!

As long as they are not taking away (some one's) food to create their cars, I feel enough reason to cheer about. That is some amount of change. On one side, they churn out gas guzzlers (we can talk enough about fuel efficiency, but, at the end of the day, gas guzzlers remain gas guzzlers. However, I do admit that compared to what kind of cars we had say 5 or 10 years ago, now they are a lot better in terms of their environmental impact.), but on the other side, they are trying to be sustainable.

Fear of new legislation may be the necessity to invent, but, at the end of the day, something is better than nothing. We all demand cars and better cars and the best in class. So, they exist. Why not change the very fundamentals of that existense?