Neoliberalism and Never-ending Disasters

Is there any direct relation between neoliberalism
and "natural" disasters?
Yes there is.

Protection, and reconstruction of the natural environment have no role in neoliberal capital accumulation programs(within the never-ending circuit of money-commodities-more money) ; they are not valued in market, and they demand extensive government intervention in the market operations. Consequently, in the absence of strong public pressures, environmental protection and reconstruction programs, or environmentally-friendly economic regulations, would all be significantly constrained. To make matter worst, for many government bureaucrats and members of parliament, their authority to make regulations, policy decisions and implementations, can all be commodified, to be sold in the market for their personal gains.

Air Pollution
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/indoe.html

Air pollution is perhaps Indonesia's most severe environmental problem. According to an official at the World Bank office in Jakarta, "air pollution imposes costs of at least $400 million on the Indonesian economy every year." It also has very a serious impact on public health. For example, inflammation of the respiratory tract, which is directly linked to air quality, was the sixth leading cause of death in Indonesia after accidents, diarrhea, cardiovascular disease, tuberculosis, and measles).

Automotive Industry
Motor vehicles are one of the chief sources of air pollution in Indonesia. Between 1995 and 2001, the number of vehicles in Indonesia grew from 12 million to almost 21 million. Many of these vehicles are motorcycles or scooters, which lack the catalytic converters required for cleaner emissions. Moreover, almost no motor vehicles in Indonesia use unleaded gasoline. Instead, the vast majority of these vehicles rely on either leaded gasoline or diesel fuel, leading to unhealthily high concentrations of airborne lead.

Despite the phasing out of leaded gasoline, Jakarta's air remains among the dirtiest in the world. The concentration of particulate matter is high, as are the levels of carbon dioxide, hydrocarbon, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. In July 2003, the Jakarta Post placed much of the blame on the fact that city authorities can only force public vehicles to comply with emissions standards. At that time, public vehicles accounted for only 315,000 of the almost 5 million vehicles in the city.

Illegal Loging
Forest fires also contribute to Indonesian air pollution. Often these fires result from illegal logging of Indonesia's rain forests. During 1997 and 1998, the fires were especially severe. Nearly 10 million hectares burned, producing a haze that impacted all of Southeast Asia. The World Bank's Indonesia Environment Monitor, 2003 states that the costs of 1997-8 fires exceeded the combined legal liabilities assessed for the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the Bhopal chemical disaster.

Industries as Polluter
Indonesia's industrial sector, which contains chemical, petroleum, coal, plastic and rubber products, and food industries, also is a significant polluter. Unfortunately, there is limited quantitative data on their overall impact. The Blue Sky Program was initiated by the Ministry of Environment in 1992 to improve air quality in Indonesia's five largest cities: Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Surabya, and Medan. The Blue Sky Program imposed controls on 20 industries. Source: http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/indoe.html

By : Dedy N. Hidayat