Sunday, April 25, 2010

Climate Change and Immigration Reform, Which Road To Take?

Senator Lindsey Graham has just stepped out of talks on climate change legislation, according to a new CNN article. This article shows how quickly immigration reform has become a huge hot button issue against the backdrop of the Governor of Arizona signing a bill that allows police officers to in essence racially profile, but according to the article "will allow local police to stop individuals suspected of being illegal immigrants". What exactly this means is still being hashed out as media pundits, police, governors, senators, and more from both sides have started clashing. One thing this does mean is that climate change legislation which was presumably next on the agenda after bank reform, is now going to be a little less pressing. After all, global warming is will still be there to tackle after all the protesters are removed and anyone "who might be an illegal immigrant" has been accosted. It is most unfortunate that this issue tops the agenda right now just because it has become a lightning rod nationally. Climate change can be dealt with concurrently with immigration reform, or perhaps we could simply wait until entire regions are under water before we start truly getting on board with the rest of the world in their efforts to halt globally significant changes in our environment. It is time that we start thinking globally and stop allowing ourselves to be brought into the "us against them" argument. We need to find global solutions to global problems, and cooperation and diplomacy will help us in this endeavor. Perhaps if illegal aliens had better living conditions, education, and opportunities in general, they would not be entering the United States in the first place? I am not saying that it is our obligation to provide these things to other nations, however if it is in our own interests to improve conditions elsewhere and it helps a neighbor, why not look at cost effective ways we can do so? The last time I checked, there was not an overabundant threat of immigrants flooding in from Canada, but then again they have excellent public education, healthcare, economic stability, and infrastructure. This may be a coincidence, but at least it warrants further review.