Extra Reading - Level 2 Unit 5 - The Environment

What It’s Like to Live in the World’s Most Polluted City

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160425-new-delhi-most-polluted-city-matthieu-paley/By Melody RowellPhotographs by Matthieu PaleyPUBLISHED APRIL 26, 2016

Delhi, the capital territory of India, is home to unbreathable air and undrinkable water.

On November 7, 2017, doctors in New Delhi declared a recent spike in air pollutants a public health emergency. Breathing air in some parts of the city have been likened to smoking 50 cigarettes in one day.

From the skies above to the ground below, Delhi is polluted. This Indian territory, which includes the capital city of New Delhi, is half the size of Rhode Island, and is home to twice the population of New York City.

Beijing, China, often makes headlines for its polluted air, but a global study of air pollution in 2014 by the World Health Organization found that Delhi’s air contained several times more fine particulate pollution than Beijing’s. By most measurements, it’s the most polluted area in the world.

To get a glimpse of what it’s like to live in these conditions, photographer Matthieu Paley spent five days walking across Delhi. Through his photographs, we see the physical results of intense urbanization, density of cars, and the practice of burning refuse. All contribute to the thick, yellow haze over the city. Even the sacred Yamuna River isn’t exempt from severe pollution. The river is second only to the Ganges in religious significance to practicing Hindus, and for 855 miles (1,376 kilometers) it flows through India, providing water to 57 million people. Eighty percent of the pollution in the river enters along the 14-mile (22.5-kilometer) stretch that goes through Delhi. Soil erosion, waste disposal, and chemical runoff leave the waters black in some places and covered with a white film in others.

Sunita Narain is the director of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), based in New Delhi, and she was just named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People for her work in India’s environmental policy and justice. In 2010 she wrote, “The river, by all pollution parameters, is dead. It has just not been officially cremated.”

The Yamuna is spiritually and practically central to the lives of people who live near it. Children play in the water, men wash and bleach shirts, people of all ages bathe in and drink from the river in the belief it will absolve them of sin.

And for some, the waste and garbage presents a way to make a living. While Paley photographed people’s interactions with their surroundings, he met men, women, and children who daily combed dumps and riverbanks for pieces of metal, plastic, and paper they could recycle. On a great day, they can earn 1,000 rupees—the equivalent of $15 and three times the average daily wage of other workers in the city.

In October 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a national campaign called Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, meaning “Clean India Mission.” While it sounds well-intentioned, the announcement came one week after the announcement for a campaign called “Make In India,” which encourages international corporations to bring their manufacturing jobs to India—a goal many see as contradictory to promoting a cleaner environment.

The CSE has been critical of these campaigns, and in 2015 it released a report saying that the government’s budget revealed no strategy for moving forward with environmental policy. Deputy Director Chandra Bhushan wrote, “The bottom-line is, be it air pollution, water pollution or municipal solid waste, managing environmental degradation requires massive investments in infrastructure.”

While Delhi may have waste-treatment plants, it lacks the necessary sewer infrastructure that would carry the waste there. Paley noticed that even aboveground he often couldn't find basic infrastructure like public trash cans. “There have been times I've had garbage in my hands and I've had to carry it with me all day, because there are no bins anywhere,” he remembered.

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Extra Reading - Level 2 Unit 5 - The Environment

Short answers to main ideas. Try to paraphrase if possible.

1. What are the two main environmental problems in Delhi?

2. How severe (bad) are the problems?

3. What has contributed to polluted air?

4. What has contributed to polluted water?

5. What role does the Yamuna River play in the people’s lives?

6. How can trash be beneficial?

7. Is the government doing enough to protect the environment? How can you tell?

8. What is one basic thing that can help to reduce pollution in Delhi?

MCQ Inference

9. What is Sunita Narain’s opinion of the problem? _____A) She feels that there is no way to solve the problem.B) She feels that the government should cremate the river.C) She feels that the government must do more to solve the problem.

10. What is Chandra Bhushan’s opinion of the problem? _____A) He believes the government is on the right track to solve the issue.B) He believes that much more funding is necessary to address the issue.C) He believes that the government does not have to spend too money to solve the issue.

True or False

11. New Delhi is as big as Rhode Island, but has fewer people than New York. _____12. In terms of air pollution, Beijing is less polluted than New Delhi as of 2014. _____13. The Yamuna River provides water to over 50 million people. _____14. Most of the pollution in the Yamuna River comes from Delhi. _____15. The Yamuna River serves mainly as a drinking water source to the inhabitants near it. _____16. Trash in and near the Yamuna River only leads to further pollution issues. _____17. Environmental protection is one of the Indian government’s top goals. _____18. The problem of pollution in India will not be solved soon. _____

Vocabulary in Context

19. Line 12: Even the sacred Yamuna River … _____A) afraid B) ancient C) dirty D) holy

20. Line 21: The Yamuna is spiritually and practically central to the lives … _____A) effective B) important C) middle D) organisation

21. Line 25: … children who daily combed dumps and riverbanks … _____A) cleaned B) made lines in C) made tidy D) searched through

22. Line 25: … a goal many see as contradictory to promoting a cleaner environment. _____A) complementary B) helping C) opposite D) unfortunate

Reference Words

23. Line 8: … it’s the most polluted area … _________________________24. Line 13: … for 855 miles (1,376 kilometers) it flows through … _________________________25. Line 26: … they can earn 1,000 rupees … _________________________26. Line 29: While it sounds well-intentioned … _________________________

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Selected Images

This picture, taken from atop an open-air dump, shows the haze that hangs above Delhi.

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Extra Reading - Level 2 Unit 5 - The Environment

Nearby industries dump their chemical waste into the Yamuna, which has left the river blanketed in toxic foam.

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Extra Reading - Level 2 Unit 5 - The Environment

Women search the Ghazipur dump in Delhi for metal they can redeem for money. On a good day, a recycler can make up to 1,000 rupees, the equivalent of $15.

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Extra Reading - Level 2 Unit 5 - The Environment

Children also act as recyclers, searching the polluted Yamuna River for religious items tossed in from bridges above. The objects, ranging from coins to small metal statues, can then be given to recycling shops for money.

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Extra Reading - Level 2 Unit 5 - The Environment

ANSWER KEY

Short answers to main ideas

1. Air pollution and water pollution.2. * Delhi’s air has more PM2.5 than Beijing’s. It is the most polluted area in the world according to most

measurements. / * There is a thick, yellow haze over the city. / * Soil erosion, waste disposal, and chemical runoff leave the river waters black in some places and covered with a white film in others. / * The water is undrinkable.

3. intense urbanization, density of cars, and the practice of burning refuse 4. Soil erosion, waste disposal, and chemical runoff 5. “The Yamuna is spiritually and practically central to the lives of people who live near it. Children play in

the water, men wash and bleach shirts, people of all ages bathe in and drink from the river in the belief it will absolve them of sin.”

6. People search through the dumps for things to recycle, which could be sold for money. 7. No.

* The budget does not provide for environmental protection. /* Government campaigns contradict each other.

8. Having trash bins on streets.

MCQ Inference

9. A) She feels that there is no way to solve the problem.10. B) He believes that much more funding is necessary to address the issue.

True or False

11. F (half of Rhode Island, twice NY’s pop’n)12. T13. T14. T15. F (children play, men wash clothes, ppl bathe)16. F (source of income)17. F (campaigns are contradictory)18. T

Vocabulary in Context

19. D) holy20. B) important21. D) searched through22. C) opposite

Reference Words

23. (New) Delhi24. The Yamuna River25. People who comb through the trash26. The campaigns

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