Abolish Racism and Honour Equality!

All of us have read of our rich culture, of India’s rich heritage, read about the amount of gold we had, are aware of our past glory of acquiring the numerous resources then unknown to the outside world. And yet we are a developing nation now. Our cities are termed as being highly polluted, our standards inhuman, our means wrong and our economic growth hampered while on the other hand those nations which looted our wealth are the developed nations. Have we ever thought why it is so? Ever given a penny for thoughts as to where the huge amount of waste actually goes that is 

generated by the developed nations which are so clean and tidy?

Environmental Racism --- a term coined to define such injustice which involves inequality of standards among nations. It refers to the geographic relationships between environment degradation and low-income or minority communities. It can be defined as a kind of racism between the developed nations and the developing ones. It is a racism which is grasping us all in its poisonous claws. The waste produced in the developed nations are dumped in the developing nations degrading the environment of that developing nation in the progress and then grumbling of its unhygienic conditions and its backwardness. These wastes which are by no means harmless pollute the environment, spread diseases and degrade the environment but the developed nations belittle their hand in this heinous crime and point fingers at the developing nation of being a threat to the world.

It all started in the 1980s when in Warren Country of South Carolina, USA filed a report against dumping of toxic wastes by companies and thus degrading its environment. Thereafter various reports have been issued, various cases filed all for the justice of environment. Uneven environmental procedures, uneven environmental impacts, intentional targeting and dumping wastes in minority communities where people are not so affluent and not aware of their rights or insufficient of environmental amenities are most susceptible areas of environmental racism. Thereafter, Chicago, Pennsylvania, Dickson in USA; Guiyu, China; Bhopal, India and numerous have all have been subjected to improper disposal of wastes. These places being not so developed have been the disposal centre of wastes and in turn have degraded their environment.

But sanity has not become extinct. While there is still time, people have become aware of the larger picture. Drafts and acts have come up. Large companies which do not actually give a heed to these grave issues are being combated with public hearings, meetings with company representatives, legislations and lawsuits. Waste reduction should be a top most priority as the capacity of this world is limited. Just dumping of goods at the garbage place does not make them disappear. Discarding electronic goods at such an alarming rate amounts to the huge e-waste generated. Instead of blindly and shortsightedly dumping such goods, one should give a thought to the outcome of it. E-wastes generated by the whole world is generally dumped in India, China and Pakistan where due to improper machinery and facility, they are not safely disposed of. This results in various diseases, mutations and degradation of the environment. The developed nations should be responsible for their own wastes and try and disarm their wastes in their own countries instead of harming developing nations of Africa and Asia. They should look beyond the ‘monetary-benefit’ and think of the larger picture which involves the whole world. This way, environmental racism can be washed off the face of the world and a greener; less polluted world can be lived in.

Environment and Humans are intricately intertwined. Realise it and Abolish the Racism!

“Judge not by colour: For the darkest colour may radiate the most illuminated Light.

  Judge not by creed:  For the Lowest creed may be the most Educated.
  Judge not by race:    For the most humble and unknown races may change History.
  Judge not by living standards:  For they are the Fathers’ of Civilization.”