Visible Display of Wealth, but Invisible Concern for the Environment

Quite a few years ago I had taken a group of students on a Study Abroad tour of India. As we were traveling through Mumbai, our tour guide told the students about the Indians' love for visible display of wealth- she was referring to weddings, jewelry, homes, cars and other possessions. Of course, this is common to many cultures, and is not limited just to Indian culture. Sadly, this visible display of wealth is not usually accompanied by a visible concern for the environment around us. One visible aspect of this culture is that since the early nineties, the Indian government has prioritized the auto industry and auto sales, rather than prioritizing mass public transport. One can proudly display their cars, it is much harder to be proud of a public mass transit.

Today, I went to a local Indian grocery store to pick up a few items and could not help but notice the numerous Mercedes, Audi, Lexus, BMW and Tesla SUVs in the parking lot. After I finished my shopping and while waiting to check out, I noticed customers buying a large number of groceries and walking out with many plastic bags in their grocery carts. Driving a luxury SUV is perhaps a lot easier that bringing one's own cloth bags. Among the many customers who checked out ahead of me, only one lady brought her own bags... there is still some scope for optimism.

#environment #plasticbags #sustainableliving #airpollution #displayofwealth