The images of New York wrapped in changing colors a few days ago have now spread all over the world. First white and then orange wrapped in shades of gray, New York is a picture of our times that we probably do not want to see. Those who have seen the blue sky of New York, they might have found it beautiful and an artist’s imagination at first sight. But it was neither a fantasy nor a beauty. This is the changing picture of our times where we are now in a time in which no one can live without being influenced by each other.
With the onset of globalization in the 1990s when the world was allegedly becoming interconnected, its critics cautioned us that globalization is unbalanced as all its benefits are going to the countries of the West and the Global South, i.e. That the developing and backward countries are not only deprived of the benefits of this globalization but have been thrown on the margins. The storm of development that swept the world in the last thirty years has also affected the Global South more. Cyclones in Bangladesh, incessant rains in big metros of India, drought in Sudan and Sahel regions of Africa and many such problems have been coming in front of everyone. In such a situation, America’s Katrina storm and some other such natural calamities have attracted the attention of the world towards the challenges of the environment.
But, one problem with environmental challenges has always been that its effects are not exciting. There is little debate on the level of pollution in Delhi in the last few years. In the months of November and December, while tying cloths over our faces, installing air filters in our homes and measuring AQ levels on mobiles, we never think that the root cause behind this is the increasing number of vehicles in Delhi, the ever-increasing uncontrolled constructions and industries. Many people have pointed out the shortcomings of the Harvard research on Punjab farmers burning stubble for Delhi’s pollution, which tells us that the causes of stubble burning are actually linked to capitalist farming practices.
In fact, whenever it comes to challenges related to the environment, the countries of the West do not even like to talk about it with the Global South because there is no major impact of environmental imbalance in their own countries. But now no one has the answer to what to do when a city like New York is drowned in smog and orange fog. Those collecting information about this new image of New York have now come to know that smoke and haze from the fire in the forests of Canada surrounded New York.
In fact, the view of New York that the whole world has seen is common in the US state of California. In many areas of California, the forest fire every summer has become a common news, but people have kept silence on whether this fire starts on its own or is set. Last year, the news published in the prestigious Guardian newspaper tells us that the American company Pacific Gas and Electric has been found guilty for two of the biggest incidents of forest fires in California, whose power lines caused these fires.
However, due to the fire in Canada at this time, the sky of New York has turned orange, behind which lightning has been said to be the reason. We Indians now understand very well who would be benefited and who would be harmed by a fire. After the fire in the forests, when the trees and plants get burnt and the land becomes vacant, then big builders occupy it and in the name of development, new townships, malls and buildings are erected in these areas in the next ten years. goes. But till then we all forget the incident of fire.
If an Indian example is given, then Mumbai is the most suitable, where buildings have been built around the sea. The annual flood in Mumbai is not actually a flood. That water has its own place on which people have built houses. The issue of environment is complicated. People’s attention goes to this only when there is a big disaster or we come across gruesome pictures of Mumbai floods or Katrina’s aftermath. The recent picture of New York is also an occasion when the whole world should think about it. Till now people coughing in Delhi were seen in the newspapers of the world. It is expected that the orange sky of New York will give a message to the developed countries of the West that New York and Delhi have become equal in the era of Anthropocene we are living in. The environment is truly global and no one will be able to remain untouched by the damage caused to it.
(These are the personal views of the author)