The Pollution in India and China

This post is in response to an assignment in my class. The assignment was:
Debate the following proposition: “The countries of India and China have a “right” to pollute the environment until they catch up with more industrialized countries.” Construct a one-two paragraph posting in which you explore the supposition that follows, supporting your answer with references.

My post:

India’s pollution problem is comparable to the pollution problem in the West in the 1960s. The factors that prompted the cleanup over the last 50 years are: 1. Public outrage 2. Strong laws 3. Strict monitoring and enforcement.
As of yet, India has not been self motivated to clean itself up. If we suppose that India has NO right to pollute the globe as the West did, if we suppose that we have the obligation to force it to clean it’s own pollution., we must also suppose that we had a means of monitoring and enforcing rules. As we respect the sovereignty of each country, we have no methods to force compliance.
If we assume that India and China have the right to pollute, then we must trust that the same influences that changed the direction here in the West will assert themselves in the East. The brunt of the destruction will fall upon the poor. Cancer rates will rise, drinking water will be polluted, bodies of water will become barren of life. After quality of life has declined to pre industrial times, people will force the government to monitor and enforce laws.

References:
Agarwal, A, (January 2000), When will India be able to control pollution?, The Hindu, found on http://www.cseindia.org/hindu.htm on May 22, 2008
Brahic, C, (November 2007), Pollution is dimming India’s sunshine, New Scientist Environment, Found on May 22, 2008 on the NewScientist.com news service, http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn12919
Leslie, J, (December 2007), The last empire: China’s pollution problem goes global, found on May 22, 2008 on Mother Jones at http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2008/01/the-last-empire.html