by Laura on 02/08/08 (1 of 1 people found this comment informative)

Wow. I'm disappointed in Wired. As far as I can tell, what this article boils down to is that the people of India will soon be able to replace their current scooters with safer, cleaner exhaust vehicles, which means they'll be using more fuel and, thus, will drive the cost of fuel up for others in the world who already have the privilege of owning cars. That's crazy. According to the manufacturer, this car produces less harmful exhaust than the scooters it will replace ("Tata counters that the Nano is cleaner than the scooters it will replace and claims the car's catalytic converter cuts emissions by 80 percent.") and the article doesn't cite any evidence to the contrary, so I don't understand the argument that this car is a health risk. Could it really be that this author is up in arms because our copious luxuries may become slightly more expensive due to India's lower-class finally having some opportunity to live in less squalor?

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by Naz on 02/08/08 (0 of 0 people found this comment informative)

Definitely some good points, Laura. Honestly, I'm not at all concerned about driving up the cost of fuel, so much as concerned about the effects of congestion on already dangerous roads in India and the creation of a whole new population of drivers able to afford these vehicles. On the one hand, its troubling for me to highlight this issue because I know that these vehicles may very well bolster India's economy, by creating the means for individuals to drive to jobs that were out of reach. Tata is creating something that fits a need in Indian society and its done so in a fairly responsible manner by creating a fuel-efficient vehicle (the lack of safety features is another story). I also have to acknowledge the hypocrisy of condemning these affordable vehicles for the potential impact on the environment when I myself am a vehicle owner rarely using public transportation. However, I feel we're approaching a slippery slope here: the Nano is just one model of many lower priced vehicles that will come to being in the next few years. Other car makers are furiously working on similar models. Also, the Nano will not simply replace scooters in India. The car appeals to a much wider audience than those who drive scooters on India's dangerous roads. NPR recently interviewed several middle-class teenagers who fawned over these cute little cars. Families will likely buy these vehicles for teens who previously used public transportation to go to school or work. While the article may not be fully balanced in viewpoint, I think the author does go to great lengths to support most of his arguments. That there are serious environmental concerns by creating a whole new class of drivers is fairly undeniable.

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by courtneym on 02/08/08 (1 of 1 people found this comment informative)

This is one of those articles that leaves me totally confused as to the right answer. Will the car actually be better for the environment because it will replace scooters that are far more harmful? Not according to Yale environmental law professor Daniel Esty: "This car promises to be an environmental disaster of substantial proportions." And what reason would he have to lie (as opposed to the manufacturer of the car who clearly has a reason)? But then, of course, even if the car were going to be an environmental disaster, how should I weigh that against the competing concern of the right of a developing nation to have the same advantages that we had when trying to rise up out of poverty? So I am left with two large questions here: How do I know who is telling the truth and what to believe when reading an article like this? How should we balance potential harm to the environment against the human desire (and right in my opinion) to rise up? Oh yes, and one more: How can I make these questions stop making my head hurt?

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by courtneym on 02/08/08 (0 of 0 people found this comment informative)

Jinx, Naz. This must be why we are friends.

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by Laura on 02/08/08 (0 of 0 people found this comment informative)

Agreed. But I don't see this article backing that statement up with much more issue than higher world demand for gasoline. "'This car promises to be an environmental disaster of substantial proportions,' Yale environmental law professor Daniel Esty told Newsweek. Some energy experts say all those new cars will increase demand for gasoline, with one telling CNN, 'we'll get into a situation where we'll have to compete with them for gasoline, $4, $5 a gallon. Who knows how high we could go?'"

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by Laura on 02/09/08 (1 of 1 people found this comment informative)

It seems to me that these cheap cars are a solution to a problem that's currently going unsolved. Rather than condemn this solution, I'd like to know what's being done to offer a better one. I just can't blame people for wanting to have more, and more comfortable, mobility. If this is the easiest, cheapest and most convenient solution to their current problem, it's going to win for better or worse. If we're concerned about its impact, then we'd better come up with an easier, cheaper, more convenient solution for them, and fast. BTW, on my second read of this article, I could barely believe the hypocrisy when I saw the ad that appeared on the page was for the new Infiniti luxury car. Are you kidding me? Until we can break our car habit (and I speak as a member of a 2 person, 2 car household, so I'm not exempt from this) then I think we have no leg to stand on in regards to touting the dangers of creating "a whole new class of drivers". Regarding the possibility of kids buying these cars as well, there were plenty of kids in my highschool who had their own cars. I'm not saying that's a good idea, but I'm wondering why it's somehow worse when people in India do it. Is it a serious environmental concern that soon there will be more car owners in the world than there were before? Very likely. But are you (the collective "you", not just you, Naz) willing to give your car up to help keep those numbers down?

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