Cleaning Up the Environment

June 16, 2010

So, we are witnessing a calamity unfold in the Gulf. I just heard President Obama address the
nation from the Oval Office. He complained about BP, the previous 10 years and pushed cap-
and-trade agenda. He made a point that oil pollutes the environment and we must move away
from it if we want clean air. Fair enough.

I also just came back from a short visit to my home town in India. When I went there last time in
2006, it was winter. The air was cooler and I wrote about the kite flying festival. This time
around it was hot. The air over New Delhi was visibly brown with dust and smog. The sun could
not get through in the middle of the day. That city is undergoing transformation because of
coming Asian games. All the roads are dug up, there is construction everywhere and I am sure
this activity added to the dust and pollution in that city.

However, the story was totally different in my home town of Ahmedabad, in the Western State of
Gujarat, India.

While I was a child growing up in that city, I distinctly remember the evenings when one could
see smoke descending over the city. A thick layer of grey-brown smoke would burn the eyes and
scratch the throat. The smog and unhealthy air would be year around phenomena. This
because of coal-burning trains belching smoke; over 100 cotton mills also belching smoke
(Ahmedabad was called Manchester of India because of its textile industry); the three-wheelers,
scooters and cars (there were few cars then) also belching smoke. That was in the 60s. The
population of the city was around 1 million.

When I went back around 20 years ago, the smoke was less since most of the cotton mills had
shut down. Labor unions and strikes had taken care of them. The trains were converted to
diesel engines. The smoke has cleared a bit. However there was acid rain. The rain water was
so acrid it peeled paint off the cars.

This time around, it is a completely different story. The population of the city has now grown to
over 7 million. (New census is being conducted as I write this). The city has grown
tremendously, requiring four ring roads around it. There is an explosion of cars, motorcycles and
all other types of vehicles. However, the sky was as blue as ever I have never seen such blue
skies over Ahmedabad in my life. It was almost as clear as the California Coastline!! How did
they do it? India is a poor country and it has even refused to be part of cap-and-trade scheme!

Ahmedabad June 1, 2010. The three wheeler

drives on CNG. The lady on the scooter
covers her face to protect from heat. Traffic
lights are powered by solar cells.
I learned a few things first hand. The Government has had a big initiative to clean up the air and
a number of eco friendly solutions have been implemented. These solutions do not break the
backs of the people, but help in the progress. Some of these are:

1. All the public transportation vehicles buses, government vehicles, etc. have been
converted to CNG (natural gas) vehicles. There is no more diesel smoke.
2. Clean petrol and diesel initiatives are implemented unleaded gas, etc.
3. Smog certificates are required for automobiles. For diesel vehicles, manufacturers
certification is required.
4. The three wheeler taxis used to burn Kerosene and petrol. They are all replaced with
CNG.
5. Street lights and traffic lights are powered by solar energy.
6. The hydroelectric power generated by the Narmada Dam is reliable power. While I saw
brownouts in Delhi, power failures in Ahmedabad were few. The project also brought
much needed water to the State. Even parched lands are now green because of canals.
India is expanding its Nuclear Power infrastructure.
7. One of the best solutions I saw was the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS). The city has
received an international award for this system this year. Instead of an expensive project
like metro rail project requiring train tracks and the trains, the city set up express bus
lanes, and established bus service across town. These buses run on CNG, and are a
public-private partnership project. Feeder bus routes bring people to the main bus routes.
The buses get a right-of-way at the cross sections; move in rapid manner and transport a
large number of people. The bus stations are just like metro stations, but again powered
by solar energy. The buses are purchased by investors and leased to the municipality.
Feeder buses will be acquired in similar manner.
8. The city is full of parks and lakes because of water. The parks are maintained by
corporations, who get to place their names on the parks. Thus the city does not need
maintenance crews, avoids expenses and the corporations do a better job any way. The
city even gets revenue from the parks, which are in much better shapes than they would
be under Government control. Even the traffic circles are maintained by corporations.
9. The roads were widened and the squatters and illegal shops/shacks were removed,
cleaning up the blight. Many of those poor squatters were given apartments to live in
again, by the real estate developers.

Dedicated bus lanes for express buses. The

stations are solar-powered; buses run on
CNG and are public/private partnership
projects.
Of course, not everything is rosy. There is poverty, lack of cleanliness as we are accustomed to
in this country; there is congestion and hoards of people everywhere. However, the progress
over the last 20 years is astounding.

So, in short with publics partnership, the government has found innovative solutions for a
multitude of problems. They have found solutions for mass transit for a congested city of 7
million (or more) people; found innovative solutions for energy; maintenance of its parks and
beautification; and incredible clean air and environment. All while keeping taxes reasonably
low.

In India, the highest individual Federal income tax is 30% (35% for corporations). People under
certain income level do not pay any tax. There is a 12% national VAT (less or none on certain
items). The VAT can vary by the State. There are high taxes on petrol and diesel. There is no
State or City income tax, or other sales taxes.

In nutshell, it can be done. The solutions for transportation and energy are there. The dirtiest air
I have seen has been cleaned up. One does not need cap-and-tax scheme, or spend trillions of
dollars to accomplish this.

Girish Patel M.D.

Bakersfield, CA.