A Nano Hypocrisy

There's been quite a stir over the unveiling of Indian conglomerate Tata's new Nano--dubbed the "people's car" and apparently the cheapest car ever sold on earth. Western media commentaries and environmentalists shriek in horror at the prospect of millions and millions of Nanos proliferating on the roads of developing countries and, by implication, wrecking the planet's climate system.

But, as I commented on Grist and also on the Worldwatch Web site, these denunciations ring rather hollow. (For a similar take, see the analysis here.)

Why is it that Americans, Europeans, and Japanese think they have a god-given right to plunder the earth's resources and drive us toward the environmental abyss, but scold Indians and others when they follow in our footsteps?

Yes, we need to do all we can to limit and reduce carbon emissions. But Western countries are a more appropriate place to focus on. Let's review some basics:

1. The Nano is said to have a fuel economy rating of 54 miles per gallon. This is roughly double the current U.S. CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) level.

2. Indians on average drive one-fourth the distance that Americans drive in a year.

3. The Nano seats five and Indian motor vehicles are typically used to full capacity, and then some. The average number of occupants per car in the US is something like 1.4.

Combine these facts and you end up with a factor of about 29--the average US car is likely to consume 29 times the energy of a Nano over a given period of time.

Yes, Indian cities hardly need more vehicles on their roads, given the existing traffic chaos and massive air pollution problems. But these are matters for Indians to address themselves. As Westerners, we ought to focus our energies on changing our own massively destructive car habits before pointing a finger at Indians.