Today’s Op-Ed Reaction comes from the article:

Breathing India’s Air by Ambassador Mark A. Green This article was published on January 9 on the Wilson Center blog.

https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/breathing-indias-air

I selected this article because I thought it raised several thought provoking issues. Ambassador Green begins by outlining the poor air quality in Delhi.

He cites several statistics that so the dire nature of the problem. This excerpt in particular outlines the serious problems:

“Some researchers say breathing Delhi’s air is like smoking 25-30 cigarettes a day. A study from the Air Quality Life Index by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago posits that with current pollution levels, nearly 40% of India’s populationwill die 7.6 years earlier. If pollution levels were reduced to meet WHO minimum recommendations, 240 million Indians would have 10 years added to their lives.”

Those are terrible numbers. Imagine creating the solution to a problem that would add 2.4 billion years of life to your fellow countrymen.

Ambassador Green next outlines steps the government is taking to combat pollution. Including driving restrictions and limiting construction projects. The most interesting idea that the article mentions is cloud seeding. Ambassador Green describes cloud seeding like this: “Cloud seeding speeds up the condensation of moisture in clouds to create rain. It’s done using airplanes or generators that inject clouds with salts like silver or potassium iodide.”

I have never heard of cloud seeding but it seems like an idea that could have several unintended consequences. If it works it would be a type of man made climate change that has never been experienced before. It would give governments the ability to make it rain at will. But how long would the rain last and would it alter natural weather conditions for better or worse.

Would artificially creating rain in New Delhi prevent a naturally occurring rainstorm from happening in Tokyo? Would it lead to more increased rain in the Gobi Desert? Could it trigger cyclones that would not have occurred otherwise? These are some of the questions that need to be addressed before anyone should engage in cloud seeding. If nothing else this article makes me want to learn more about cloud seeding.

The article also mentioned how the government banned the use of fireworks during Diwali but how many did not listen. This shows how inept government regulations can be if there is no interest in following them. Massive disobedience to a government edict renders the edict moot.

Ambassador Green notes how the pollution problem is compounded by farmers during their annual burn in preparation for the next planting season. What steps could be taken to eliminate the need for a burn and replace it with a different method to clear the ground?

Ambassador Green ends by noting “ Friends of India worry that air pollution challenges could threaten the country’s ambitious plans for attracting new investment and creating economic opportunities.” Currently coal is the most commonly used energy source in India. Replacing coal usage with nuclear power would probably go a long way in improving the air pollution problem in India. I thought this was a thought provoking article.