India by no means is undeveloped

Einstein once stated that the two most common substances in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity but admitted that he was unsure about the hydrogen.

As if to prove his point, Diane Francis (SP, Dec. 3) declared India to be “undeveloped” — probably without ever having been there.

In 2013, incandescent light bulbs were a rarity in India for they had been almost totally replaced with CFL and LED lights. By 2019, LED lights had mostly replaced the CFL lights.

In Canada, the Harper regime proposed a ban on incandescent lamps by 2012 but they are still sold.

While Saskatoon dithers over approving solar energy communities, two years ago, the city of Chandigarh north of Delhi required residences larger than 150 square metres and all civic buildings to install solar panels. That city recently lamented the fact that only 40 per cent of its civic buildings had complied. As far as I know, Saskatoon has none.

While Canada aspires to ban single-use plastics, a few weeks ago, the Indian Supreme Court banned an impressive array of such plastics and 1.25 billion people seem to have complied overnight as have several Indian airlines.

Signs posted on the twoto 10-lane highways and in small communities urge the avoidance of these plastics. Some businesses even offer a kilogram for kilogram exchange of their products for anyone collecting such plastics.

In Canada, we barely recycle nine per cent of plastic products.

So I wonder, who is undeveloped?

Gerald L. Harrison, Saskatoon