From: mece3d@jane.uh.edu (Michael Yesudas)
Subject: Re: Literacy and Graduate Studies
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: University of Houston
Date: Thu, 5 Nov 1992 03:14:00 GMT

In article <1992Nov3.194250.6694@constellation.ecn.uoknor.edu>, mchundat@essex.ecn.uoknor.edu (Mathai Chundattu) writes...
>In article <31OCT199223233471@elroy.uh.edu> mece3d@elroy.uh.edu (Michael Yesudas) writes:
>>In article <1992Oct31.231920.9023@constellation.ecn.uoknor.edu>, mchundat@essex.ecn.uoknor.edu (Mathai Chundattu) writes...
>>
>>We have not even seen what industrialization is. What peril are we talking
>>about?
> 
>We don't have to be an industrialized society to know about the harmful
>effects of industrialization. This is precisely the awareness that I was
>talking about. And this awareness is a direct result of high literacy.
>The people are more aware of and more people so about the problems than
>people from other parts of India.

It is very surprising to me that we are aware of only the harmful effects of
industrialization. There are only two possibilities left then. (1) We are 
not aware of the prosperity that industrialization can generate. In that case
we are ignorant. (2) Or we are aware of that fact, but we have conveniently
forgotten it in our attempt to stake the claim that we are the smartest set
of people in the sub-continent. That would be arrogance.

Your next point of interest would be that industrialization would not necess-
arily generate prosperity. That would also be a moot point.

> 
>>
>>>This awareness is the main reason behind the huge support for
>>>environmentalism in kerala. And this awareness helps them to object to
>>>huge technological projects which will imperil their surroundings.
>>>
>>
>>It is not the awareness, but the lack of information about what the environment
>>is. Inflated facts that are supplied through the media is in a way responsible.
>>The only points that the Silent Valley people had was (1) This is the last of 
>>(Every day people die of hunger, Annerama oru Korangan...)
>>It is sheer ignorance to object to anything constructive on the pretext of
>>environment. 
> 
>For a nuclear physicist, there is no danger in the operation of a
>nuclear power plant. This is because his view is also biased in favor of
>the construction of such a project. But common people need more than a
>technical information.

I do have a problem with the common people. Infact I have never seen a common
man. Are you refering to the people who have exactly $332.52 as the annual
income, has land holdings of exactly 0.0043 hectares, has mean average education
having 2.3 children and so forth? That looks to me as the most uncommon person.

As for the "Nuclear Physicist..." all I can say is this. For an experienced
airplane pilot, there is no danger in flying a Boeing 747. But do common 
people, (as you define them) refuse to sit in the plane? Do they ask for the
technical manual of the plane at the time of take-off?

>I do think that news media take a large portion
>of expressing opinions about such projects but they never entirely
>mislead a community against any enterprise. This is because there are
>many kinds of media and all of them expressing a unanimous opinion is
>highly uncommon.

I am aware of only two that directly communicate to the people. One is the
newspapers and magazines, and the other is the electronic media. And the latter
one is under the control of the state. 

In the original follow-up I had actually said that media is responsible to
a large extent for the misrepresentation of facts. Not that they all came
out unanimously.

>In the end it is the compound effect of all this
>information which makes someone to think in favor or against an
>industrial project.

Why should it be that every industrial project should be voted or vetoed by all
the people of the land. Are all industries only environmental hazards? What 
are the hazards that we are talking about? Ozone layer vanishing? The leakage
of small quantities of Freon from the airconditioners and refrigerators is the
main cause of the Ozone "holes". But I am still very confused as to why the 
largest Ozone hole is present in the Antarctica, Region over Lappland (the part
of Northern Sweden and Finland, named after the people who stay there, which is
one of the most backward regions of Europe after Albania) and Australia, which
has a miniscule population compared to its size. (It has just about half the
population of Kerala, and more than double the size of India) True, it is quite
heavy over the US too, but will that prove anything?

Or are we talking about deforestation? The rain forests have the trees growing
there with a comparatively shallow network of roots, which holds the rich thin
layer of top soil together. (Compared to coniferous and decidous forests found
at higher latitudes) The trees are cut down for cheap agricultural land and 
after a few harvests, most of the top soil gets washed away, and what is left
over is no more rich due to the simple fact that the soil and the earlier
ecosystem had a mutual co existence. And so the land turns out to be fallow,
and soon more deforestation starts. We have a very good case of such a disaster
happening in Kerala itself, at Attappadi.

Or are we talking about the junk that is generated by the industrialized
countries? The main problem here is the "un biodegradable" nature of plastics
and acrylics. But then the problem looms large only in the US which consumes
about 45% of the world's plastics. Are poor power plants and hydel projects
to be hanged for that?

Or are we talking of global warming? The highest average temperature of earth
in the century, has been in the years 1942, and 1943. Or is it the whimsical
nature of the notorious El Nino that causes the problem? Are these currents 
in our control? Is Kayankulam thermal plant such a threat, that it will ensure
that there would not be rain in Kerala for a few centuries? Or are we scared
of having smog and heavy concentration of Carbon monoxide in a few years from
now? Or are we scared that the rains after that will contain nitric acid and
sulhuric acid, as there is going to be a large concentration of Nitric Oxide
and Sulphur di oxide as we had a power plant running on flowing water?

Or are we talking of desertification? Every ten years, a region of the size of
Texas (FYI, that would mean one fifth the size of India) turns into desert.
And what causes the deserts to expand? Is there anything in our control that
we can do to prevent a sand storm? (If you have ever been in one you'll know 
what it means)

Or are we talking of saving all the species, starting from the bacteria to 
dinasaurs? Would you really want the huge mammals roaming all over the town?
Now don't tell me that they went extinct because of global warming....

We do not have all the facilities that an industrial nation has is not because
that we were highly intelligent and had the clairvoyance. It is simply because
we were backward. Now we cover it up quoting the issue of environmentalism,
and we go to ridiculous extents of defending it. 

This mock environmentalism is another manifestation of the divide and rule
policy. Say man vs nature and you'll know why this exists.

> 
>>
>>Sincerely
>>Michael 
>>
> 
>Regards,
>Mathai
> 
>-- 
> 
> 

Sincerely
Michael 
Newsgroups: alt.culture.kerala