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India's New Delhi Now Most Polluted City on Earth, Air Quality Well Beyond 'Hazardous' Level (cnn.com)

New Delhi residents are suffocating only to find little to no relief. The city, as well as much of Northern India, home of over 400 million people, is blanketed by a thick layer of smog. The air quality has severely depreciated, hitting alarming 1,000 AQI PM2.5 level -- over 15 times of the safe limit. The air quality index hasn't gone down 400 reading, which is considered hazardous. From a report on CNN: Measurements taken at the US Embassy in Delhi put the city's Air Quality Index at 999 on Monday, off the standard chart, which finishes at the "hazardous" level of 500. By comparison, the highest AQI level recorded Monday in Baoding -- China's most polluted city -- was 298. Beijing was a pleasant 30, while India's next most polluted city, coal and industry-heavy Chandrapur, recorded levels of 824, according to the World Air Quality Index. Research released earlier this year found that air quality levels exceed World Health Organizations guidelines for 80% of those living in urban areas around the world.Though Delhi has been one of the most polluted cities for decades, burning of tens of millions of crop stubbles in the recent months and the Hindu festival of Diwali (which sees many people set off fireworks) have been held responsible for the severe air quality.

137 comments

  1. Why is this a problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    It seems like the health issues from the air quality might help resolve the issues with overcrowding in India and overpopulation issues on Earth. Why would this be a bad thing?

    1. Re: Why is this a problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Thank you Donald. Don't you have a campaign to run?

    2. Re:Why is this a problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Treating long term respiratory disease is very expensive.

    3. Re:Why is this a problem? by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      By the time people die of these problems they have already reproduced.

    4. Re:Why is this a problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That takes a long time.

    5. Re:Why is this a problem? by nospam007 · · Score: 1

      "It seems like the health issues from the air quality might help resolve the issues with overcrowding in India and overpopulation issues on Earth. Why would this be a bad thing?"

      Think of it as evolution in action, you mean?

    6. Re:Why is this a problem? by ghoul · · Score: 1

      Well if it was really evolution , the Indians who survive would be immune to bad air and could run all the dirty factories they want and outcompete Americans. No one wants dirty air- its a function of the level of development. When the choice is between a working factory which gvies 100 people jobs which they can use to feed their families (400 people) and the pollution from the factory will give 50 of those people a breathing ailment the ruthless evolutionary decision is its better for 50 to get sick and die than for 400 to starve and die. When you develop past the work or die state of society you can start caring for things like clean air and water. India has no social security - you work or you die (especially for the poor). For the middle class you will see one persons salary supporting an entire bunch of unemployed sons, daughter, nephews and cousins. Underemloyment is endemic and unemployment is fatal. In such a situation jobs come before the environment.

      --
      **Life is too short to be serious**
  2. Crackers by kamapuaa · · Score: 2

    Story is too vague. What kind of crackers do they burn? Oyster crackers? Saltines?

    --
    Slashdot: providing anti-social weirdos a soapbox, since 1997.
    1. Re:Crackers by irrational_design · · Score: 1

      This was my question. I'm imagining saltines. I've never tried to burn one, but I imagine it would release a lot of particles.

    2. Re:Crackers by unixisc · · Score: 2

      The crackers thing is BS. Delhi has the pollution that it does due to both the number of cars/buses/trucks/... as well as the factories. The crackers are 1, maybe 2 days in a year, which would do squat in terms of pollution. Not to mention that in India, a lot of people have been moving away from fireworks under the pretext of being more eco-friendly.

    3. Re:Crackers by _xanthus_47 · · Score: 1

      I hope that is sarcasm but if it is not, the crackers here mean fireworks. (I am sarcasm impaired btw)

    4. Re:Crackers by magarity · · Score: 1

      The "crackers" appears to be replaced by "fireworks" by the time I got here. What I want to know is WTF: "The air quality index hasn't gone down 400 reading, which is considered hazardous." Gone down 400 reading?

  3. Outsourcing by Bender+Unit+22 · · Score: 2

    It's a filthy, polluted hell hole, but their outsourcing services are cheap! So it is all good. God forbid they would raise their prices and improve their living standards.

    1. Re:Outsourcing by CRCulver · · Score: 5, Informative

      Outsourcing is mainly to South India. In the context of the Subcontinent, that's a world away from Delhi. Indeed, you'll find that living standards in the south are higher, and pollution rather less.

    2. Re:Outsourcing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How's that election turning out for you? AH!

    3. Re:Outsourcing by ghoul · · Score: 2

      Cost of living in Delhi is rather high due to it being the capital. e.g. Its more expensive than Texas so outsourcing that happens to Delhi is not generally for cost.

      --
      **Life is too short to be serious**
    4. Re:Outsourcing by unixisc · · Score: 2

      The above article is on the capital New Delhi, but is extended to cover Northern India, which would mean the entire extended National Capital Territories. This includes Noida and Gurgaon, which are major offshoring hubs, and which probably cost less than other major hubs like Bangalore, Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad.

    5. Re:Outsourcing by KozmoStevnNaut · · Score: 1

      South India and Bengal, there's a lot of IT outsourcing industry in the Kolkata area.

      --
      Eat the rich.
    6. Re:Outsourcing by unixisc · · Score: 1

      I doubt that Kolkata comes anywhere even close to Gurgaon or Noida

  4. Re:ZOMG CLimate change1!#%!$@ by baker_tony · · Score: 1

    What's a polluted city got to do with climate change again?
    Go back to shooting squirrels little man.

  5. Chinese Tourist Photos by theArtificial · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Somewhat related, a fascinating set of images from a Chinese tourist trip to India.

    --
    Man blir trött av att gå och göra ingenting.
    1. Re:Chinese Tourist Photos by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This explains a lot about the Indians I have worked with in IT. A LOT.

    2. Re:Chinese Tourist Photos by allcoolnameswheretak · · Score: 2

      My god that is terrible and disgusting. I try to be tolerant and respectful towards different cultures and their quirks, but there is nothing cultured or civilized about living under those conditions. That is like hell. A culture that tolerates and even encourages that kind of behavior is sick and should be reformed.

    3. Re:Chinese Tourist Photos by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      My god that is terrible and disgusting. I try to be tolerant and respectful towards different cultures and their quirks, but there is nothing cultured or civilized about living under those conditions. That is like hell. A culture that tolerates and even encourages that kind of behavior is sick and should be reformed.

      This is not some India specific thing. London in 1952 lost 4000 people in 1952, Donora Pennsylvania lost 40, but endured a longtime increased death rate in 1948.

      If you really want to have coal and Diesel as your primary power sources, people gonna die. No one cares of course, until it's their child slowly drowning in front of them.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    4. Re:Chinese Tourist Photos by Stormwatch · · Score: 1

      Those pictures make me think of this bit from Atlas Shrugged.

      You, who claim that you long to rise above the crude concerns of the body, above the drudgery of serving mere physical needs—who is enslaved by physical needs: the Hindu who labors from sunrise to sunset at the shafts of a hand-plow for a bowl of rice, or the American who is driving a tractor? Who is the conqueror of physical reality: the man who sleeps on a bed of nails or the man who sleeps on an inner-spring mattress? Which is the monument to the triumph of the human spirit over matter: the germ-eaten hovels on the shorelines of the Ganges or the Atlantic skyline of New York?"

    5. Re:Chinese Tourist Photos by swb · · Score: 1

      I doubt London has seen dead bodies and dead cows floating down the Thames in those numbers in over a century, maybe longer.

    6. Re:Chinese Tourist Photos by zlives · · Score: 1

      clearly the author never visited Detroit.

    7. Re:Chinese Tourist Photos by theArtificial · · Score: 1

      There are many beautiful places in India featuring the remnants of past Kingdoms which illuminate art, technology, strife and innovation. The images depict life without sewer systems, which aren't coal or diesel powered, and poverty. Western nations do have their share of problems, the lack of sanitation systems and indoor plumbing, are not one which affects a significant number. Underscoring the severity of this issue recently there was a national campaign about poo in the loo.

      --
      Man blir trött av att gå och göra ingenting.
    8. Re:Chinese Tourist Photos by allcoolnameswheretak · · Score: 1

      Not just dead bodies and cows flowing down the river, but also decomposing by the shore, getting eaten by wild dogs while people bathe in and drink that very same water with the decomposing corpses floating just a few meters away from them!

    9. Re:Chinese Tourist Photos by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      I've been told the 'Sacred Ganges' has special oxygen that makes the water pure, no matter what.

      Of course it's nonsense. But don't have this discussion with a Hindu unless you want to be lied to.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    10. Re:Chinese Tourist Photos by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Caught the Indian!
      1) You have cleverly dodged answering why it is the way it is, and not taking any responsibility
      2) You try to equate the problems in India with the Western world. They are not same! They are
      not in the same league. They are order(s) of magnitude apart. Let me explain the fallacy - Your
      argument has logic, but it ignored the quantity(comparing a sand grain to a mountain)

      These arguments are age-old. I have heard them when I was a kid. And yes, I'm an Indian.
      There are things in India I'm proud of - but cleanliness, social responsibility and common sense(in Paine's sense)
      are not among them.

    11. Re:Chinese Tourist Photos by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How? I'm really interested. Behaviorally? Or the work they do? Or the way talk? How...

    12. Re:Chinese Tourist Photos by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Somewhat related, a fascinating set of images from a Chinese tourist trip to India.

      The photos must have been taken on a large time span. They don't even seem new.

      The thing is, their way of life is incomprehensible for us. They could be living materially better, if they really wanted to.

    13. Re:Chinese Tourist Photos by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      I doubt London has seen dead bodies and dead cows floating down the Thames in those numbers in over a century, maybe longer.

      Oh yeah. My main commentary was about the air pollution and what it can do.

      Not that utterly disgusting habit of bathing in corpse laden sewage.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    14. Re: Chinese Tourist Photos by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      From the stench in a visa temp office work room to the stench of a whole floor. Omg it was disgusting. Being the only white person on the first flirt (it) as Sandusky - it's why I don't buy anything Sandisk. They do not support theAmerican economy. All the money is sent to India. Let's see. Brocade, another two floors dedicate to Indians. Cisco entire campus buildings. God I hate trump but if he could really stop this...

    15. Re:Chinese Tourist Photos by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Man, after the soul is gone it's just meat for fuck's sake. That's the whole point of Hinduism. Not to be obsessed with the material world. Westerners will never understand that. Most of the waste you see is organic and will degrade in a few days. Cow dung is not smelly because cows are vegetarian. The dung is used as fuel. Washing your ass with soap and water is more hygenic than smearing your shit with bleached paper. Now go drink your fluoride and chlorine laden water and eat your insecticide/pesticide/antibiotic laden food and visit your doctor for your cancer/diabetes/heart disease/AIDS pills you fucking dog eating goof.

    16. Re:Chinese Tourist Photos by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hinduism? Where a Sudra is killed for a crime while Bramana is just fine for the same crime. Where widows are burnt with their dead husbands Which teaches drinking cow urine cures all diseases Which uses mercury and lead in its medicine Which kills people for eating beef and marrying out of their caste Hindus talk about tolerance. How tolerant they are? Can a Sudra buy a house in Bramana dominated agrahara? Can a Sudra become shankarachary? Can a Sudra marry an upper caste woman? Where is your tolerance? You worship everything from cow dung to dogs. But why you fail to uplift people from manual scavenging? You go and eat some cow shit and drink some cow piss. Also drink some water from corpse rotting ganges. Shit in open because toilets are western inventions. Also don't use soap. wash your ass with tulsi teerta. Don't vaccinate. Don't use computers. It contains plastic right. Go hell and fuck your gods. Even this commenter says cow dung won't smell because it is vegetarian. He can take my shit during the days I go veg.

    17. Re:Chinese Tourist Photos by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are apparently not a native speaker, so I'll be forgiving. But in English, quoting "Atlas Shrugged" is only for social retards that everybody hates.

    18. Re:Chinese Tourist Photos by theArtificial · · Score: 1

      I don't take any responsibility for India, as I am not Indian. My argument doesn't defend the issues, I'm simply fascinated by them.

      --
      Man blir trött av att gå och göra ingenting.
    19. Re:Chinese Tourist Photos by caseih · · Score: 2

      Except the crazy air pollution is not all coal and diesel. The reason it's so bad right now is that farmers are burning stubble fields (was once a common practice in the west as well). We're talking hundreds of thousands of acres. Farming practices that don't involve burning stubble have not taken hold because farmers are very poor there and cannot afford the equipment that would allow zero-till or minimal till planting.

      I'm sure it's still bad with all the cars and trucks, though. But this is an especially bad situation right now.

      No one cares? I wouldn't say that. A lot of people care. I'm sure the farmers also care, but feel trapped by economic circumstances. And the citizens of New Delhi certainly care as well, as you'd know if you read the article. Individually, their power to change things is extremely limited, other than to protest and urge the government to use its collective power to help in some way (like modernize the farming infrastructure).

    20. Re:Chinese Tourist Photos by ghoul · · Score: 1

      Oh most educated HIndus will not drink water from the ganges. its really dirty. The govt is trying to clean it up via the Ganga Action Plan but its struggling to keep up with the large population. It seems as soon as you end up educating the current batch its not a good idea to throw stuff into rivers, another batch of migrants come from smaller villages far away from the river who have grown up on stories of how great the river is. And during the monsoon all the stuff does get washed away and for a month the river is actually clean enough to drink from. Hopefully Modi will have better luck at keeping the Ganga clean. What could help is diverting water from the Indus system into the Ganges system via the Yamuna. That would cause droughts in Pakistan but would solve the problem of keeping enough of a current in the Yamuna and Ganga to be able to deal with the pollution. Given recent pinpricks from Pakistan the Indian govt is seriously thinking of abrogating the Indus water sharing treaty and move in this direction.

      --
      **Life is too short to be serious**
    21. Re:Chinese Tourist Photos by Archimonde · · Score: 1

      Absolutely terrible. NSFL.
      I have no idea who can defend something like this.

      --
      Trolls are like broken clocks. They show the truth two times a day. The rest of the day they talk nonsense.
    22. Re:Chinese Tourist Photos by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Flashbacks to Planescape: Torment.

    23. Re:Chinese Tourist Photos by dunkelfalke · · Score: 1

      India used to have a large population of vultures which took good care of the corpse problem. Unfortunately diclofenac poisoned almost all of their vultures. I shit you not, they have lost over 99% of the vulture population inside a decade, going from being basically the most abundand bird of prey in the world to being critically endangered with only a few hundred birds still alive.

      --
      "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
    24. Re:Chinese Tourist Photos by Clsid · · Score: 1

      And then you will wonder why Pakistan will threaten you to send you a nuke. I don't even want to imagine the nationalist idiot thought it was a good idea to restrict the water supply of a whole country.

      Arthur C. Clarke was right, future wars will be about water.

    25. Re:Chinese Tourist Photos by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      No one cares? I wouldn't say that. A lot of people care. I'm sure the farmers also care, but feel trapped by economic circumstances. And the citizens of New Delhi certainly care as well, as you'd know if you read the article. Individually, their power to change things is extremely limited, other than to protest and urge the government to use its collective power to help in some way (like modernize the farming infrastructure).

      One very important consideration is the religion aspect.

      I'm dealing in generalities here, so everyone can spare me the "not everyone is" comments.

      One of the interesting aspects of religion is that so many of them have a "so what" escape clause. a couple examples are the immortal soul aspect of the abrahamic religions, and the reincarnation aspect of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhs and Jains.

      It all boils down to "so what? I'll be in Heaven worshipping God for eternity" or "So what, I'll be reincarnated, and after enough experiences, I'll return to God."

      Point is not the specific religion, or the specific route to heaven or God, but the concept of spiritual release, and the unimportance of the present life other than living to enable the next and permanent life.

      So while I suppose a lot of people care in some abstract fashion, if they die because of air pollution, or whatever disaster, they'll be reincarnated or meet their maker in order to worship him forever, when that happens, it will all be good, and hwo cares about the world anyhow. It's just an unpleasant waypoint on the way to the final reward.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  6. Re:ZOMG CLimate change1!#%!$@ by unixisc · · Score: 0

    The greenhouse gas theories? That excessive CO2 trapping the heat, raising the world's temperatures and causing the ice caps to melt, blah blah blah

  7. Visibly bad air but great place by seoras · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I used to marvel at the brown smog that hung over Californian cities like the SF Bay and LA. You can only really see it from afar. Then I landed in New Delhi....
    New Delhi is so bad you can't see down the length of a short street for the brown fog that seems to permanently hang over the place.
    I got a bit of a sore throat too.
    Would I go back to New Delhi?
    In a heart beat. Lovely people, the Indians, food was superb and I had a few good nights out there.
    The best thing about New Delhi is that it's an hour or two in a coach bus to Agra and the Taj Mahal as well as many other beautiful historical buildings.
    I'd sooner spend a long weekend in New Delhi than the SF Bay or LA (you won't run into any DJT supporters in ND either)

    1. Re:Visibly bad air but great place by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Love your ability to make even a post about India a chance to jab at people who don't believe the same as you. Great job.

    2. Re:Visibly bad air but great place by khr · · Score: 1

      The best thing about New Delhi is that it's an hour or two in a coach bus to Agra and the Taj Mahal

      I think the best thing about Delhi is Hauz Khas, which is, of course, a beautiful historical building, within Delhi. Or a few old ones together. Quiet, somewhat run down and a peaceful spot in a city of awesome chaos.

      The flip side is the horrendous air pollution, nonstop coughing for nine to ten days (the lengths of the trips I had there), leading to some of the worst nosebleeds I've had in my life.

    3. Re:Visibly bad air but great place by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 2

      Would I go back to New Delhi?
      In a heart beat.

      No, you wouldn't, otherwise you would have already left. The truth is that you have built-up a fantasy of what life in New Delhi is like and actually living there would shatter that fantasy with cold buckets of reality.

      I'd sooner spend a long weekend in New Delhi than the SF Bay or LA

      Ha! A single weekend is misrepresentative, go live there.

      --
      Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    4. Re:Visibly bad air but great place by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      Wow. A beautiful building? But lots of coughing and nosebleeds? Sounds lovely. Seriously?

    5. Re:Visibly bad air but great place by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      " (you won't run into any DJT supporters in ND either)"

      You forgot about Narendra Modi:
      https://www.quora.com/Is-Donal...

    6. Re:Visibly bad air but great place by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Getting cholera, lung cancer and a high chance of rape qualifies as a "superb" experience to you?

      Remind me never to ask you "Hey seoras, I got a few days off, help me out with some getaway ideas".

    7. Re:Visibly bad air but great place by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah the way they just toss dead bodies into the rivers is simply superb.

      Lol.

    8. Re:Visibly bad air but great place by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 2

      I think the best thing about Delhi is Hauz Khas, which is, of course, a beautiful historical building, within Delhi.

      I think the best thing about Delhi is that I don't have to fucking live there.

      Frankly it sounds dreadful. Overcrowded, hot, filthy, polluted, much of the water comes from illegal wells on the banks of the (polluted) Yamuna River, toilets are not commonplace, food prep is about as unsanitary as it gets....yeah, gosh, what's not to like about that?

      New Dehli makes Phnom Penh look like a space-age wonderland. (And I actually like Phnom Penh, most of the time.)

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    9. Re:Visibly bad air but great place by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 2

      Would I go back to New Delhi?
      In a heart beat.

      Then fucking go, no one is stopping you. But you're living somewhere else because it's better than New Delhi. And that's why you haven't gone back.

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    10. Re:Visibly bad air but great place by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd sooner spend a long weekend in New Delhi than the SF Bay or LA

      Ha! A single weekend is misrepresentative, go live there.

      Maybe he wouldn't want to live there. Maybe he was talking about, I don't know, where he'd spend a long weekend.

    11. Re:Visibly bad air but great place by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      I used to marvel at the brown smog that hung over Californian cities like the SF Bay and LA. You can only really see it from afar. Then I landed in New Delhi.... New Delhi is so bad you can't see down the length of a short street for the brown fog that seems to permanently hang over the place. I got a bit of a sore throat too. Would I go back to New Delhi? In a heart beat.

      As long as you accept that you are probably going to die sooner than otherwise.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    12. Re:Visibly bad air but great place by techno-vampire · · Score: 1

      I used to marvel at the brown smog that hung over Californian cities like the SF Bay and LA.

      I take it, then, that you haven't actually visited LA in the last several decades. Because of high and well enforced emission standards and required gas additives, the air in LA is considerably cleaner than it was in the 50's and 60's. Back in 1978, you could rarely see the mountains at the east end of the San Fernando Valley if you were looking from the central part; now, it's remarkable if you can't see it from the far west end. Yes, our cars and our gas cost more, but the health benefits have been worth it.

      --
      Good, inexpensive web hosting
    13. Re:Visibly bad air but great place by bug_hunter · · Score: 1

      Man, a lot of people losing their minds due to your post for some undefinable reason.
      Anyway, thanks for the post, was informative.

      --
      It's turtles all the way down.
    14. Re:Visibly bad air but great place by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe because 99% of India is a disgusting, feces-infested hellhole and San Francisco is not.

    15. Re: Visibly bad air but great place by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes. He oviously like performing rape. Maybe he likes to rape 12 year old Muslim girls as it's thevghing to do there. The world would be better off without the Indian plague.

    16. Re:Visibly bad air but great place by seoras · · Score: 1

      Your welcome! :)

      Oh my, I did touch a nerve with my comparison didn't I? :)

      Some more info on me. I'm white, Scottish and my mother comes from the same Hebridean Island as DJ's "mom" comes from.
      I've lived, and worked, in the SF Bay for a number of years. I've only been to New Delhi once, regrettably.
      Could not settled in the US due to the element of US society that today is supporting Trump.
      Shame, beautiful country and I made some great friends there too.

      "Disgusting", is how Trump describes the living conditions of people in Scotland who won't sell up to him to make way for his golf course.
      One of them is 92 year old "Molly", who had the water to her home cut off by Trump 4 years ago

      There's a smell in the air and it's not coming from Delhi.
      I'm feeling some what satisfied now that I've upset some of his home supporters. I just hope he disappears by Friday.
      He's not a unique and private problem to the people of the USA, he's an international problem and a threat to humanity.

    17. Re:Visibly bad air but great place by Clsid · · Score: 1

      New Delhi over the SF Bay Area? I don't know about you, but there is nothing enjoyable about seeing rotting corpses in a river, regardless if you are bathing in there or not. The levels of savagery that are seen in India with rape, social injustice, bad hygiene and filthiness and miserable wages should make you think twice about going there. Of course, in those dire situations, a lot of people turn to religion because clearly your reality is hell itself and then foreigners go and are wowed by the spirituality. Sure, Indian cuisine has a lot of flavor, but so does Sichuanese and Mexican food, or just eat Indian food in the US. Things like tango were created in a brothel but you don't have to go there to dance tango, do you?

    18. Re:Visibly bad air but great place by Clsid · · Score: 1

      Well, you should get off your high horse there. People with power tend to abuse most of the time. The UK, with the Scottish included are no different, hell they make somebody like Trump feel like Mother Teresa.

      I do agree that we have to fight for our rights, but not settling in the US for a politician is very stupid, more so, when people in the US really could not care less about politics in general.

      Go enjoy your rotten corpses and get diarrhea in India with their food. That is the real smell you are going to "enjoy" there.

  8. Nature's taking care of the problem by allquixotic · · Score: 2, Insightful

    http://www.albartlett.org/pres...

    Either we choose from the list of ways to solve the population problem, or nature will choose for us. India is grossly overpopulated. Nature is running its course. You cannot build a society, a philosophy, a religion, a way of life that's built around reproducing as quickly and exponentially as possible while discovering new resources (land, energy) at a rate slower than exponential. The math doesn't work.

    Their next strategy is to try and spill over into the other less-overpopulated parts of the world and make *those* places just as overpopulated as India, if not more. They just don't seem to get it.

    1. Re:Nature's taking care of the problem by ghoul · · Score: 4, Interesting

      India has now hit replacement level 2.1 children per woman. Most of India is still pretty empty (at least emptier than Europe). The problem is in the megacities. Most of the jobs are being produced in only 3 cities Delhi, Bombay and Bangalore and over 1 million people migrate from smaller towns to these cities every year so its a continuous fight for infrastructure to catch up.
      What needs to be done is build more newer cities and job opportunities in them (cheaper outsourcing anyone?) so the infrastructure in the bigger cities gets a chance to catch up.
      BTW your quip on populating the less populated parts of the world like USA is unjustified. The Indian govt has been blasting the population control message for 2 generations now and the educated people who migrate to USA have 1 or 2 kids at most. On the other hand I have seen many white Christian or white Jewish families in the US with 3,4,5 even 6 children and these are people with Computer Engineering degrees not farmers. So if its a cultural or religious thing Hindus from India is not where you should be looking.

      --
      **Life is too short to be serious**
    2. Re:Nature's taking care of the problem by allcoolnameswheretak · · Score: 3, Informative

      Most of India is still pretty empty (at least emptier than Europe)

      Yet the population density of Europe is 112 per square km, versus 404 per square km for India.

    3. Re:Nature's taking care of the problem by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      You must be american.
      No clue about geography?
      India and overpopulated? Har Har Har Har!
      One of the most retarded comments on /. this year.
      (*facepalm*)

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    4. Re:Nature's taking care of the problem by bluegutang · · Score: 2

      Actually India's fertility rate is around 2.4. But this is replacement level for India. (And it's still dropping year by year.)

      In developed countries 2.1 is considered replacement level, not 2.0, because some people die as children or young adults and do not fulfill their expected fertility. But in India more people die at young ages, so the replacement level is higher. The worldwide replacement level has been calculated to be 2.33, so 2.4 seems like a good guess for India.

    5. Re:Nature's taking care of the problem by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      "Most of the jobs are being produced in only 3 cities Delhi, Bombay and Bangalore and over 1 million people migrate from smaller towns"

      No. most of the new jobs are being produced in Los Angeles, Chicago and the Bay Area. That's where all people migrating from smaller Indian towns are headed for.

    6. Re:Nature's taking care of the problem by allquixotic · · Score: 1

      Can't tell if trolling or just stupid...

      "you must be american" --> Well don't let *facts* get in the way of your discrimination against people from a particular country:

      India has a land area of 2.87 million km^2. 1.2 billion people live there.

      The U.S. has a land area of 9.83 million km^2. 328 million people live there.

      If the implication of your comment "you must be american" is that my country is more overpopulated than India, it's going to be fairly hard to convince me of that, when we have many times more land and about 1/4 as many people living in that land.

      Yes, the US has a population growth problem, but then so do most parts of the world. But the US is not currently, as it stands, anywhere near as overpopulated as India.

    7. Re:Nature's taking care of the problem by ghoul · · Score: 1

      What you forget is land area is not everything otherwise Canadians would think USA is horribly overpopulated. Look at the CIA fact book and look at the arable land percentage. India has one of the highest percentage in the world- its a really fertile place which is why it has always supported a high population density throughout history. Historically the population of India has always been higher than the population of Europe. USA may be 3 times bigger but a lot of it is Desert, mountains and forests. If you look beyond the top few megacities in India which have a disproportionate amount of the population the villages and towns are not that crowded. Of course they also have no job opportunities hence the educated youth move to the cities for jobs (some in outsourcing) and the youth who grew up in the cities move to the US to get away from the crowds.

      --
      **Life is too short to be serious**
    8. Re:Nature's taking care of the problem by amicusNYCL · · Score: 1

      Look at the CIA fact book and look at the arable land percentage.

      Wikipedia uses the CIA book as a source for this article. India is 3.287 million sq km, and a whopping 51.63% is cultivated. That's certainly one of the higher percentages, and gives them 1.535 million sq km of cultivated land. The US is 9.826 million sq km, but only 18.22% is cultivated. Even so, that gives us 1.669 million sq km of cultivated land, more than India. We're actually the only country with more cultivated land than India.

      --
      "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
    9. Re:Nature's taking care of the problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't worry. It'll be fixed by all first world countries following the narrative of "OMG OVERPOPULATION!!" while the third world reproduces at alarming rates.

    10. Re:Nature's taking care of the problem by ghoul · · Score: 1

      Exactly. China has less land suitable for growing food and a higher population. If China has managed to make the transition from developing to newly developed there is hope for India yet. The only thing which could doom India is that by the time China is too expensive and its time to move the factories to India (most countries who have developed in the last 70 years have done it through cheap exports) ; automation might be cheap enough to avoid the move. China is going for a lot of robotics in its factories. If the factories never come to India, India will have to find a different route to development. They do have a good lead on outsourcing and call centers but that only a maximum of 1-2 million people. Without mass industiralization it is difficult for a country to go from developing to newly developed. That would be a challenge to which I don't have an answer.

      --
      **Life is too short to be serious**
    11. Re:Nature's taking care of the problem by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      Yes, you are american. Facepalm.
      No it is not implicated from my comment that America is more overpopulated than India.

      but then so do most parts of the world. But the US is not currently, as it stands, anywhere near as overpopulated as India.
      No, most parts of the world don't have population growth problem. You are not only an america, which is forgivable, but an idiot.

      If at all the population growth in the USA is due to immigration, and immigrates from poor parts of the world having more children than the average american. Like in the rest of the world most couples have 1 or 2 kids.

      But the US is not currently, as it stands, anywhere near as overpopulated as India.
      Both nations are not overpopulated You seem not to get it. There are no overpopulated nations on the planet (see below). Overpopulation would be if for some reason there are more people than can be fed from the land. Or pick a random metric if you want. For any particular interesting metric neither USA nor India is over populated. And that was my point.

      If you want to go by country, Netherlands has a higher population density than India, and there are a couple of more countries. If you want to call some countries overpopulated, because they need to import all the food, then it is Macao, Singapore, Hong Kong.

      And those lists you can easily google!

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    12. Re:Nature's taking care of the problem by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      Facepalm.

      India ais higher developed than China.

      You must live in America, too, to have such retarded ideas.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    13. Re:Nature's taking care of the problem by Clsid · · Score: 1

      Says the German who are notorious for their exarcebated nationalism, even after World War 2. I wonder how are you feeling using a website made by Americans and run by Americans, butthurt much?

      We may be clueless about geography but at least we learned to use deodorant and shower regularly long ago, something that seems to be ages beyond your comprehension.

    14. Re:Nature's taking care of the problem by ghoul · · Score: 1

      What kind of fantasy land are yo in if you think India is more developed than China. Indians are very aware that China started its reforms in 1980 and India started in 1990 so its behind by a decade. Indians do worry that in the field of cheap manufacture while Japan could take over from Europe/America , taiwan/korea/malaysia could takeover from Japan and China could take over from Taiwan/Korea as each country developed and became rich India/Vietnam may not get the chance to takeover from China as robotics have got good enough that its cheaper to automate in China than move factories to India. The Indian govt is pushing hard. They have provided free land to Foxconn and banned Apple from having Apple Stores in India till Foxconn moves one of their iPhone assembling facilities to Pune. Foxconn is resiting hard and instead adding more robots into iPhone production. There is only so much the Indian govt can do if the fundamental nature of work is changing. BTW with the number of robots China is installing they are developing a large cadre of good and cheap robotics technicians so these jobs may never come back to the US as their robot technicians would be cheaper than US based robot technicians.

      --
      **Life is too short to be serious**
    15. Re:Nature's taking care of the problem by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      India is a majour player far longer than China.
      Hence my assumption it is farer developed. But perhaps they are slower and where overtaken by China.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    16. Re:Nature's taking care of the problem by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      Germany had no "nationalism" till roughly 2000.

      About 2000 german started to show colours in international socker games etc. again and be proud about their country.

      Before that time it was frown up on to show german colours as private person.

      So you are very wrong on this. The only super nationalism country I know, again is the USA. Playing the national anathema at any silly occasion ...

      What your showering and soap and deo comment is supposed to mean is beyond me.

      Germany is mostly inhabited by "Teutons" (no idea why Americans and british call us Teutons, when the correct term is "Germans") and nordic descendants (actually the same culture).

      We had hot baths and soap at times where the british islands were not even settled by romans ... good luck with your idiotic world view.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
  9. Time for more nuke plans with the no homers rule by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 0

    Time for more nuke plans with the no homers rule

  10. china is where all the dirty factories are by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    china is where all the dirty factories are but they (gov) does a better job of covers stuff up.

  11. Wasn't always this way by bluegutang · · Score: 4, Interesting

    A few years ago when people talked about air pollution, they talked about China. The AQI in Chinese cities was routinely over 400, and before the 2008 Olympics, they shut down hundreds of factories and banned half the cars from the road in an attempt to make the air temporarily cleaner. But now Chinese air seems to be much better - Beijing's AQI is said to be just 30 in this article (though it must vary substantially by day, like it does everywhere).

    It seems China has passed the stage of building polluting heavy industry, and reached the stage where there is enough of a middle class to demand tolerable air. It seems India is just now reaching the first stage.

    1. Re:Wasn't always this way by OrangeTide · · Score: 2

      Well China is centrally planned by the PRC. You will find democratic nations to be extremely slow to react in comparison. Expect a lot of bureaucratic red tape at every level of government in India before they even begin to address this.

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    2. Re:Wasn't always this way by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think you meant ".. centrally planned by the CCP"

    3. Re:Wasn't always this way by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well China is centrally planned by the PRC. You will find democratic nations to be extremely slow to react in comparison. Expect a lot of bureaucratic red tape at every level of government in India before they even begin to address this.

      Democratic doesn't necessarily mean bureaucratic. However India appears to have bureaucratic and corrupt in spades...

    4. Re:Wasn't always this way by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

      Even in a theoretically ideal democracy a proposal would have to go through various levels of government for consensus building before action takes place on a large scale. Much of the administrative staff would not be elected, but appointed, even in a so called democratic government. That happens to be the literal definition of a bureaucracy.

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    5. Re:Wasn't always this way by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

      I can't conceive how one might separate or distinguish the CCP from the PRC.

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    6. Re:Wasn't always this way by Ryanrule · · Score: 1

      check it in the winter. its not cold yet.

    7. Re:Wasn't always this way by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Even in a theoretically ideal democracy a proposal would have to go through various levels of government for consensus building before action takes place on a large scale. Much of the administrative staff would not be elected, but appointed, even in a so called democratic government. That happens to be the literal definition of a bureaucracy.

      If you have ever tried to get something done (say like get a licence to start a business) in India, you will soon discover what real Bureaucracy is. They have it perfected to an art...

    8. Re:Wasn't always this way by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      PRC means the People's Republic of China. That's the official name of the country. While CCP is the Chinese Communist Party.

    9. Re:Wasn't always this way by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Even in the winter time, the pollution levels typically don't even approach the levels seen in India's cities. Usually it's around 100-150 or so on average. Spiking some days, but only for a couple of days and then lowering again.

      I think though we will see a lower amount of PM2.5s in the air this winter in China. A lot of heavy industry factories that were inefficient and couldn't afford to put filters on stacks were closed down. E.g. a lot of steel mills were e.g. closed down, but soon after the more efficient cleaner surviving steel producers bumped up production and that's why we see an increase in steel production in China. It's actually due in part to the structural changes to the supply side that China/Xi has been endorsing over the past few years. Xi wanted the supply side to be come much more efficient.

    10. Re:Wasn't always this way by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

      And one does not exist without the other. And the actions of one is equivalent to the actions of the other.

      I'm not sure what point you're trying to make, since you're so into literally spelling it out for us, what is it you'd like to say/

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
  12. Particulate pollution by Geoffrey.landis · · Score: 3, Informative

    This story has nothing to do with greenhouse gas emissions. It is about particulate pollution: more specifically, PM2.5: that is, particles suspended in the air with diameter of 2.5 micrometres or less.

    --
    http://www.geoffreylandis.com
    1. Re:Particulate pollution by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And the quoted "15 times over the limit" is still using a rather high limit. It's 40 times over the EU annual limit (1000/25), 83 times over the US limit. At this rate, you'll have significant daily mortality.

  13. Burning fields, not firecrackers by Geoffrey.landis · · Score: 4, Informative

    The crackers thing is BS. Delhi has the pollution that it does due to both the number of cars/buses/trucks/... as well as the factories. The crackers are 1, maybe 2 days in a year, which would do squat in terms of pollution. Not to mention that in India, a lot of people have been moving away from fireworks under the pretext of being more eco-friendly.

    And, in fact, the actual story says that the problem is not Diwali fireworks:
    "images published by NASA suggest that burning of crops in the neighboring states of Punjab and Haryana could be the biggest reason why the air quality in the world’s most polluted city refuses to clear."
    With a link to a NYT article discussing it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11...
    and to interesting satellite images on the NASA website

    --
    http://www.geoffreylandis.com
  14. People per square kilometer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    India has now hit replacement level 2.1 children per woman. Most of India is still pretty empty (at least emptier than Europe).

    Population density of India is 442 people per square kilometer. Population density of Europe is 127 per square kilometer: France is 122, Germany is 234, Belgium 373.

    So I don't think you can accurately say "emptier than Europe". It is lower than the Netherlands, though (503 people per square kilometer).

    Source: http://data.worldbank.org/indi...

    1. Re:People per square kilometer by ghoul · · Score: 1

      My comment was that places outside the megacities are emptier than Europe. This is because while Europe's population is spread across a large no of cities, India's is disproportionately concentrated in a few mega cities. 100 million+ in the top 8 cities. Take that out and the population density falls to France like levels. If you go 100 Km away from a major city you start reaching very idyllic countryside.

      --
      **Life is too short to be serious**
  15. would have thought that would be Washington DC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    with all the shit talked there.

  16. Related TEDx talk "The Ugly Indian" by Stonent1 · · Score: 2

    The Ugly Indian The speaker makes the point of India can't expect to consider itself a world class country until it cleans itself up. He goes into the culture of "someone else will deal with it" so he organizes cleanup events that target the worst areas so that people see how nice an area can become and then start to take pride in keeping that way.

    1. Re:Related TEDx talk "The Ugly Indian" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Beautiful. Made my day. Thanks for it.

  17. DJT: ND vs CA by unixisc · · Score: 1

    Besides, if there were 'DJT' supporters in LA or SF, CA would be in play, in which case, he'd have a much wider path to victory. Also, anywhere outside the US, you won't find many supporters of someone who wants to put 'America First', but that being said, one of his sons does have a joint venture in India w/ a politician from the ruling BJP. So GP may find more DJT supporters in ND than in LA or SF

    1. Re:DJT: ND vs CA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Trust me, there are Drumpf supporters here in California. My parents, my wife's parents, my sister. A lot more people than you would think. As our health care coverage goes down, costs and co-pays go up (blamed on the Affordable Care Act by all), the Drumpf supporters come out. Me? I couldn't support Drumpf no matter what. But there are a lot more supporters here than you would think.

  18. TMTOWTDI by stomv · · Score: 1

    What needs to be done is build more newer cities and job opportunities in them (cheaper outsourcing anyone?) so the infrastructure in the bigger cities gets a chance to catch up.

    That's one way to do it. Another is to look at what's causing the emissions upwind and curb them. Could be power plants. Could be dirt roads. Could be the burning of all the litter/household trash. Could be two stroke engines. Now do two things: 1. implement (stricter) standards on pollutants for new equipment, and 2. work on retrofitting existing equipment to tighter emissions standards.

    You don't need a new city to require motorcycles that pollute less or to improve the electric grid to burn less coal in central steam plants and less diesel fuel at local gensets.

    1. Re:TMTOWTDI by ghoul · · Score: 2

      The problem is the federal structure of India. Delhi actually has very clean public transport with it being the first city in the world to go to all Natural gas public transport and a very large metro system (growing very fast with it projected to be bigger than the Tube in 4 years). Most of the smoke is coming from burning of farm waste in Punjab and Haryana which are 2 separate states whose govts dont really care if their burning is creating smog in Delhi. As their natural levels are much lower a little extra smoke doesnt hurt them. However with Delhi being a metropolis larger than Los Angeles in Size and with more population than New York there is always going to be some vehicular pollution. Most industries have already been shifted out of Delhi and power plants closed down and now Delhi buys its power from States 1000 kms away. But till everyone walks or bikes car smoke will be there. Another problem is the massive amount of construction going. A lot of the particulate matter is construction dust. Due to the scarcity of water in a city which is after all just 50 kms away from the Thar Desert construction companies tend to cut corners and not use liberal water sprinlling to keep the dust down during construction. Another massive problem is the homeless who tend to burn branches from all the trees in Delhi (Delhi has a higher green cover than New York but the parks have become places for homeless to hang out). If Delhi govt could move the homeless from the parks into homeless shelters it would help. Unlike China which can use heavyhanded measures , in India even the homeless vote so its not so easy to move them out. Nor can the Delhi govt force the Punjab and Haryana govts to go police every farm. Only educating the farmers will work, there are not simply enough police to actually try and enforce a ban. Unlike the US which has 1 security officer(local police, state police or federal security officer) for every 100 citizens , India has 1 security officer for every 5000 citizens. India is woefully underprepared to enforce anything through force.

      --
      **Life is too short to be serious**
  19. Recently featured on National Geographic by sootman · · Score: 1

    If half of what is shown in this show is true, it'll take some time to fix, but they're aware of it and working on it. Long story short, they use a lot of coal, but they are at the limits of what the grid can distribute so power goes out often (and burning more coal -- which they're doing -- only strains the grid more) and lots of places have diesel generators for backup.

    --
    Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
  20. Diesel Generators by DaMattster · · Score: 1

    There is a prevalence of diesel generators and many run daily because of the instability of the power grid. Surely, this contributes quite a bit to particulate matter in the air.

    1. Re:Diesel Generators by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I doubt that is significant compared to all the motorbikes and scooters.

  21. Editing by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

    "New Delhi residents are suffocating only to find little to no relief."

    Sorry, but that sentence makes no sense at all.

    No relief from what? It seems to imply that they were breathing okay, and then tried tried suffocating, expecting it to bring some relief. But from what?

    -

    "The air quality index hasn't gone down 400 reading,"

    So the air quality was reading (a book or something?), but then it didn't go down 400. 400 what? IQ points? Millimeters per hectare? Furlongs per fortnight?

    Oh, you probably meant, "The air quality index hasn't gone down to a reading of 400..."

    Editing, TRY IT.

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
  22. Designated... by Stormwatch · · Score: 1

    Designated burning streets.

  23. Re:ZOMG CLimate change1!#%!$@ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    These people are helping. Smog reflects sunlight and decreases global warming. One could argue that global warming is due more to clean air than CO2. In the 70's, we had air you could see and no global warming. We clean up the air and global warming goes up.

  24. Time to reread by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Frank M. Robinson's ''East Wind, West Wind'' (1972)

    "...with stringent controls that have failed, and as the developing countries industrialize air pollution is about to be pushed past the point that human life can be sustained."

    Dammit.

  25. Trump, Modi & Cruz by unixisc · · Score: 1

    Narendra Modi has more in common w/ Ted Cruz than Trump. He is pious, very ideological (unlike Trump, who is transactional), and very much a (BJP) establishment figure. He was the longest serving Chief Minister of Gujarat before he became Prime Minister. His election would more resemble a Scott Walker or Mike Huckabee being elected President - both governors of their states multiple times, and enjoy wide establishment party support. The biggest beef that people who are not Liberals have against Trump is his lack of experience. Modi won in a landslide b'cos nobody questioned his experience: his main opposition came from people unhappy about his merely overseeing the Gujarat riots some 15 years ago. The only thing he has in common w/ Trump is that both are perceived to be anti-Muslim.

  26. Get off of your high horse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's like you don't believe we live in a global economy.

    Guess where all those goodies you love get made -- places like India.
    Guess where all those old goodies go to be recycled -- places like India.

    Why is this? These places have virtually nonexistent worker/environmental regulations.

    When I read your post, I see: "I shovel my shit into my neighbors' yard. My neighbors' yard is disgusting. How can they let that happen?"

    1. Re:Get off of your high horse by allcoolnameswheretak · · Score: 1

      All "my goodies" being made and recycled in India doesn't force those people to dispose of their dead in the very same water they bathe in and drink from. Also it doesn't force them to consider their cows, apes and other animals to be so holy that these animals become a plague that spread their filth all over cities with nobody to stop them.

    2. Re: Get off of your high horse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes. How is a cow sacred. The most stupid thing ever.

    3. Re: Get off of your high horse by ghoul · · Score: 2

      The concept is simple. Cows give milk which is essential for babies whose mothers are not able to produce milk so they are considered sacred as in mothers are sacred.
      If you want the historical reasons behind it when the proto-Aryans first moved from the Iranian plateau into India and met up with the remnants of the Indus Valley Civilization (first civilization in world history to have cities with sewers which is ironic considering the state of sewers in India today) , they brought high yielding cows with them. However these cows did not take well to the heat of the subcontinent and had to be bred with local cattle to create a special breed which could survive and give enough milk in India. Hence cows became too valuable to be eating them and religious stricture came in making them sacred so that they are used only for milk.

      All this does not justify cows roaming around in city streets. I am in favour of city governments catching any cow they find on a city street and taking it at least 100 Kms away and gifting it to a farmer or a milk cooperative.

      --
      **Life is too short to be serious**
    4. Re: Get off of your high horse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, do you think beef eating should be banned in today's India? Can you site some reference to back up your cow breed theory?

  27. Shut down H1B visa by p51d007 · · Score: 1

    Bring those cheap jobs they contracted out to the USA, watch our economy start to turn around. The tax rates in the USA are so punishing, corporations, wanting to make more with less, farm everything out to the cheapest around, thus firing a lot of IT people, and farming it out to call centers in India.

    1. Re:Shut down H1B visa by ghoul · · Score: 1

      The tax rates in the USA are zero. Large corporations like Apple pay zero tax. Its very simple actually. They incorporate Apple International in Ireland. They then assign all patents developed in California to this international corporation for a pittance. They then show that they do not make any profit on any of their products as all the profit is taken up by royalties paid by Apple Inc(incorporated in USA) to Apple International(incorporated in Ireland). AS the US will only tax corporations incorporated in USA and Apple Inc has 0 profit they pay zero corporate income tax. Ireland's laws on the other hand say that a company is only taxed in Ireland if it has operations in Ireland. As Apple International has no operations and no employees in Ireland it is not taxed by Ireland. Hence the ever growing cashpile in Ireland. Apple is waiting for when the US announces a tax amnesty and move the money from Apple International to Apple Inc. Till then Apple Inc is actually borrowing a lot of money in the US markets to pay for investments, takeovers and growth.

      So its already a 0% rate. Cutting corporate taxes will not do anything about outsourcing.

      As for shutting down H1B it would not be legal as the H1B was created in order to meet USA's WTO commitments. When India allowed Coca Cola and Microsoft to sell in India it was with the understanding Indian companies would be able to sell software services in USA and they would be able to get adequate work permits to do the same.(In fact the current 65000 cap is probably illegal under WTO though India has not taken USA to the WTO as the safety valve of L1 visas is available)
      If USA tries to shutdown H1Bs India might ban Google,MIcrosoft,Apple,Caterpillar,Boeing,Coca Cola, P&G from selling in India which would lead to much larger job losses in the USA. And it would be perfectly legal under the WTO retaliation clauses.

      --
      **Life is too short to be serious**
    2. Re:Shut down H1B visa by unixisc · · Score: 1

      I doubt that India would ban all these companies, as that would create a major jobs bust in Bangalore, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and a number of cities. I mean - if those companies can no longer sell in India, they would have no incentive to have operations there either: why operate in a place where you can't sell? India's major selling point is its big markets. Also, it's not like India has many domestic brands that could create alternatives to what you get from the Microsofts, Ciscos, Apples, Boeings, Cokes of the world, so banning them would move India's economy back to where it was in the 80s (which, unlike the US, was then a basketcase).

      On the H1B question, the flashpoint has been those cases where you have terminated US workers having to train Indian H1B workers to do the same job they were doing. One of the conditions of a company getting one of these is to prove that there are no US citizens or permanent residents available to take such jobs. It says nothing about their price tag. So it's demonstrably false if a company applies for an H1B claiming that it can't find Americans to do the job, as HCL and Cognizant seemed to do at Disney. There is nothing stopping them from hiring those workers who needed to do the training in order to get the severance, but in that case, Disney wouldn't be gaining anything by outsourcing those jobs. Also, in the Senate, you have some moves to raise the minimum wage of H1B workers to $100k, so that it would not be cheaper to hire them, as opposed to just sending the work to Bangalore or Noida.

  28. Hinduism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hinduism is the most polluting, nature insensitive religion. Check about how they pollute River Gnages by throwing corpses. How they pollute water bodies for dissolving elephant god's idols. How they burn wastes and pollute during Bogi. How they use fire-crackers for Diwali and pollute air. Hinduism claims that it is a nature oriented philosophy. But in reality, Hinduism is utter disrespect to both nature and human kind. Not to mention about the caste based atrocities!

  29. Well, at least the sewers are clean ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thank Vishnu for the lower castes. What ould we do without them ?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3azx-jUT1sY

    1. Re:Well, at least the sewers are clean ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OTEGOLZ1Ho

  30. And... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The best part is that thanks to the Paris Climate Accord the US Taxpayer is going to have to foot the bill to clean up THEIR (Indias) mess because they REFUSE to so they can remain competitive. We are subsidizing THEIR polluting industries and people.

  31. msmash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Seriously, have someone check your grammar before posting. Your stories are riddled with grammar mistakes and this is the worst.

    WTF Does this sentence mean?
    The air quality index hasn't gone down 400 reading, which is considered hazardous.

    WTF are crackers? Now fixed.

    This has to be read twice to get the meaning:
    hitting alarming 1,000 AQI PM2.5 level -- over 15 times of the safe limit.

    MS Word has a built-in grammar checker ffs.

  32. Editors learn english or get out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The air quality index hasn't gone down 400 reading, which is considered hazardous.

    This is not an example of correct english grammar.

    If you want a job as an editor learn english.

    Please fire these useless "editors" and hire some competent staff.

  33. uncensord india by JacklineJackline · · Score: 1

    las a few days ago indian religian occupired their festival "HOLI" then the festival new delhi full with poisonus gas. it is totaly follis job for indian people...http://einfon.com/top-15-best-social-networking-sites/