Is Clean Environment a Dead Issue Today?

Environment is a broad terminology that encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is the atmosphere where we live, operate and do our daily activities. Therefore, it is extremely important to keep it clean. However, many of our corporate houses are not of the same opinion and historically, causing destruction through their evil deeds to our environment in the form of air, water, sound, or soil pollution in order to enrich their pockets. Therefore, every one of us as the responsible citizens of the planet should initiate the revolution against those offenders, so that our future generations would not blame us for their misfortunes. The gas emissions form factories, chemicals that pollute water, high sounds that cause noise pollution and many other different hazardous objects that result into soil pollution are our main opponents whom we have to destroy sooner or later. While discussing that we may form an image that this is mainly a concern for developing or under-developed countries as they lack proper knowledge as what can cause what. However, the fact tells a completely different story.

Consider the instance of Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) – world’s largest producer of agricultural products and also ethanol, the alternative source of renewable biofuel energy. There are historically protests against the use of ethanol that is made from corn as it raises the rate of hazardous gas emissions in the environment, make potable water scarce, and hike food prices all over the world limiting agricultural land to name a few. Despite all that, the first nation of the world, United States (US) is traditionally supporting ADM, that too right from President Cartel era in 1978. They always give subsidies in the name of corporate welfare whenever ADM find the road difficult and made the competitor Brazilian import sugarcane made ethanol expensive through duties. They do everything on the earth to support ADM in the country’s bid to be ‘Energy Independent’, diluting the effect of OPEC countries. But, in the process, they are ignoring a more important issue of ‘Clean Environment’, which has the potential to be a serious concern in near future.

Not only can US be made an example among so many. Our very own India is also found guilty in this regard when it allowed DOW Chemical Co. to re-enter India to carry out their chemical businesses. DOW is the one which was mainly responsible for the December 3rd 1984 ‘Bhopal Gas Tragedy’ which exposed more than 5,00,000 lakh people to toxic gasses killing 2,259 immediately and taking the toll to 16,000 after two weeks! Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) was the company responsible for the mayhem which was later overtook by DOW in 2001. However, Indian government again handed over the courtesy in the form of regulatory permission to the company to carry out its business. Thankfully that effort was partially destroyed by local social protests in 2008 at DOW, Pune’s main R&D center.

However, the question is why people should have to take the things in their hands all the time. Is not it the duty of government which forgot all its responsibility and treat the “Clean Environment” concern as a dead issue? The importance of this concern is beyond anyone’s guess also and can be understood only when the pollutants would destroy the ozone layer of our environment which protects us from Sun’s hazardous rays and other life taking substances. But, till now, I have to conclude that the concern for “Clean Environment” is a dead issue, keeping in mind only one exemplary instance – that of US’s role in ADM’s affluence.