• BashfulBob [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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    1 day ago

    I’m sorry, I was thinking this was some sort of weird IQ thing and was about to roll my eyes. But its actually Air Quality Index, which leaves me feeling incredibly sad.

    On the plus side, air this bad tends to produce popular backlash that states can’t easily ignore. From LA to Beijing, we’ve seen huge reversals in air quality in the face of widespread public demand for breathable air. A good foundation for a next generation environmental movement is putting several million people into an industrial smoker and telling them to politics their way out.

    • jackmarxist [any]@hexbear.netOP
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      1 day ago

      On the plus side, air this bad tends to produce popular backlash that states can’t easily ignore.

      This is India not China or the US. Most people don’t give a shit. The government doesn’t give a shit either. Plus the small minority that gives a shit will be labeled as terrorists if they protest against the current Hindutva Fascist government hence ruining their lives as they rot in Jail for decades without trial.

      • BashfulBob [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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        22 hours ago

        This is India not China or the US. Most people don’t give a shit.

        I got an earful about how Evil Communist China Doesn’t Care About Its People back in 2008 when Beijing had some of the worst air quality on earth. I remember a bunch of noise about Californians living in their own filth back in the 90s, when LA was a smoggy soup. Every dollar-store pundit runs this line until the public anger spills over.

        if they protest against the current Hindutva Fascist government hence ruining their lives as they rot in Jail for decades without trial.

        Thank goodness the US and China don’t have large police forces and carceral systems.

        • jackmarxist [any]@hexbear.netOP
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          21 hours ago

          You don’t really understand the ignorance of Indians and the way the Indian government rules us.

          Pollution is not really seen as a bad thing but is seen as an inconvenience at best if not something to be proud of. Last month we had the festival called Diwali which involves using firecrackers and fireworks. Hundreds of millions of people lit fireworks at that time causing immeasurable air pollution just in the name of religion and culture. The air quality has been shit since then and people still use fireworks and firecrackers because “culture”.

          China and America don’t see pollution in that way. For China it was a huge problem brought by unregulated industrial output and not something they see as a part of their identity.

          There is also the lack of good education in India unlike China. People don’t really understand the harmful effects of air pollution.

          I can go on more but you should get the gist of it.

            • Vritrahan
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              19 hours ago

              I am Indian and he is right on the nose.

              • Midnight1938@reddthat.com
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                9 hours ago

                I dont really see Diwali being that large of a contributor though, things were never this bad a decade ago, when crackers were double in numbers

                • Vritrahan
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                  6 hours ago

                  In my experience, the crackers themselves have gotten worse. There’s more colour and sound now, and I don’t remember them producing so much smoke back in the day. I used to be an avid arsonist as a child despite my asthma being worse then. Now I just can’t stand being outdoors.

                  When it comes to Dehli, from what I’ve read, the problem is that the crackers tips it over. Post monsoons fog starts building up and it traps all the smoke creating deadly smog. It’s just bad timing.