Crossing the threshold.
An Indian automotive company seeks to put its country on (four) wheels with the $2500 Tata Nano.
Obviously styling is not the Nano's main selling point. But it seats five, gets over 50 MPG from its 33-horsepower, two-cylinder engine, and meets Euro III emissions standards. This is exactly the sort of cheap wheels that have revolutionized economies in the past (think the Ford Model T or the Volkswagen Beetle). In this case the Nano may signal a sea change in Indian mobility, as most of the country gets around on public transportation, bicycles and scooters.
But that doesn't sit well with some environmentalists, who seem to believe it's the duty of Indians to remain poor:
The Center for Science and Environment warns more cars will only exacerbate congestion and smog-related illnesses in a country where 57 percent of cities already face critical levels of air pollution.
Tata counters that the Nano is cleaner than the scooters it will replace and claims the car's catalytic converter cuts emissions by 80 percent. The Nano supposedly emits 30 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer, well below the 160 g/km average of Europe's cars and far less than the 130 g/km standard the European Union will adopt in 2012. Even if half a million Nano's hit the road and each of them travels 5,000 miles a year, they will be responsible for less than 8 percent of India's annual CO2 emissions, Economic Times reports.
Most of the hand-wringing over the Nano has focused on its environmental impact, but some are beginning to ponder what the car will mean for global energy supplies. There is mounting concern that increased demand for petroleum will boost prices.
First, it's not clear that the massive growth forecast in Indian auto sales mean higher prices at U. S. pumps. The higher prices here are due as much to a lack of refinery capacity as to a surging demand in crude oil.
Second, economic growth is catalyzed by higher mobility. People who depend on public transit or small scooters for transportation have limited ranges of travel. They must live closer to work and shopping, leading to overcrowding, greater stress on infrastructure and higher crime rates. Automobiles extend the range of travel and expand their owners' connections to work, school and markets.
It is galling to see Westerners wring their hands over the attempts of developing countries to improve the lives of their own people. They seem to forget that we crossed this threshold decades ago and have reaped the benefits ever since. For countries such as India and China to do the same doesn't herald the end of the world, but rather the start of a new one.
Obviously styling is not the Nano's main selling point. But it seats five, gets over 50 MPG from its 33-horsepower, two-cylinder engine, and meets Euro III emissions standards. This is exactly the sort of cheap wheels that have revolutionized economies in the past (think the Ford Model T or the Volkswagen Beetle). In this case the Nano may signal a sea change in Indian mobility, as most of the country gets around on public transportation, bicycles and scooters.
But that doesn't sit well with some environmentalists, who seem to believe it's the duty of Indians to remain poor:
The Center for Science and Environment warns more cars will only exacerbate congestion and smog-related illnesses in a country where 57 percent of cities already face critical levels of air pollution.
Tata counters that the Nano is cleaner than the scooters it will replace and claims the car's catalytic converter cuts emissions by 80 percent. The Nano supposedly emits 30 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer, well below the 160 g/km average of Europe's cars and far less than the 130 g/km standard the European Union will adopt in 2012. Even if half a million Nano's hit the road and each of them travels 5,000 miles a year, they will be responsible for less than 8 percent of India's annual CO2 emissions, Economic Times reports.
Most of the hand-wringing over the Nano has focused on its environmental impact, but some are beginning to ponder what the car will mean for global energy supplies. There is mounting concern that increased demand for petroleum will boost prices.
First, it's not clear that the massive growth forecast in Indian auto sales mean higher prices at U. S. pumps. The higher prices here are due as much to a lack of refinery capacity as to a surging demand in crude oil.
Second, economic growth is catalyzed by higher mobility. People who depend on public transit or small scooters for transportation have limited ranges of travel. They must live closer to work and shopping, leading to overcrowding, greater stress on infrastructure and higher crime rates. Automobiles extend the range of travel and expand their owners' connections to work, school and markets.
It is galling to see Westerners wring their hands over the attempts of developing countries to improve the lives of their own people. They seem to forget that we crossed this threshold decades ago and have reaped the benefits ever since. For countries such as India and China to do the same doesn't herald the end of the world, but rather the start of a new one.