[GPSCC-chat] Fwd: [California Greening] Immigration: is a policy of compassion possible?

[Wes Rolley]

http://cagreening.blogspot.com/2011/11/immigration-is-policy-of-compassion.html

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	[California Greening] Immigration: is a policy of compassion 
possible?
Date: 	Thu, 10 Nov 2011 06:03:13 +0000
From: 	Wes <wrolley at charter.net>
To: 	wrolley at charter.net



In my previous post 
<http://cagreening.blogspot.com/2011/10/thought-experiment-tipping-point.html> 
I mentioned Laurence C. Smith's /The World in 2050/ and promised to 
connect his ideas to Green Party Policies. I still was not sure where 
this was going to take me and therefore, overly ambitious about the time 
frame. It will take a lot more than the two weeks I mentioned.

In the meantime, I did get an OpEd for my local paper out of it. It will 
be run on Friday Nov. 7 in the Morgan Hill Times, but you can read a 
copy at Polizeros 
<http://polizeros.com/2011/11/09/the-world-in-2050-is-what-we-make-today/>.

There are two forces that will drive the movement of people in coming 
decade. One is obviously the mounting pressures from population growth. 
If one has to leave their homelands, then why not to a wealthier 
America? or a more welcoming Canada? The other is climate disruption 
where drought causes famine, where sea level rise floods coastal cities 
and delta farmlands and some places just become unbearable.

Estimates of the number of climate refugees vary widely. We know how 
many people live in affected areas... but it only a guess as to how many 
will chose to leave when not yet forced to do so. Some estimate it to be 
as high as 50 million.

Even if we don't agree to such a high number, still we have to admit 
that there will be some. Pacific Islands will be under water. Increased 
desertification already affects Africa 
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/interactive/2011/nov/01/somalia-drought-camps-map-interactive>, 
the Mediterranean 
<http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/10/27/355639/noaa-climate-change-mediterranean-droughts/>, 
even Texas 
<http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v478/n7370/full/478450a.html> 
(sub's req'd). How many will be displaced by this? I don't know but the 
refugee camps in Kenya are already over full.

Along with this climate disruption, we will will have political 
disruption as well. There has always been a resentment against new 
immigrants in the US, even though this country is the product of a 
succession of immigrations. Now state after state, most recently 
Alabama, have passed laws claiming to protect the US from "illegal" 
immigration, but in reality with a strong racist motivation.

Then, as I was thinking on this issue, two news items game me the 
impetus to start writing. One is the release of a report by the 
International Energy Agency (IEA) that gives a very sobering assessment 
of climate risk. According to the UK's Guardian 
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/nov/09/fossil-fuel-infrastructure-climate-change?CMP=EMCENVEML1631>: 


    "The door is closing," Fatih Birol, chief economist at the
    International Energy Agency, said. "I am very worried – if we don't
    change direction now on how we use energy, we will end up beyond
    what scientists tell us is the minimum [for safety]. The door will
    be closed forever."

That prettymuch tells us that we need changes in energy policy now. But 
we also need to understand how it will affect immigration here.

Before this week, I might has painted a bleak picture, one of the US 
demonstrating a fortress mentality closing all its borders with Herman 
Cain electric fences or moats filled with alligators. Then, a stunning 
thing happened. Arizona voters successfully recalled State Senator 
RusselPearce, President of the Senate and the author of Arizona's 
infamous immigration law, a law strongly opposed by Arizona's Green 
Party. Arizonans have had enough of militancy and racism. The election 
turned on the fact that Arizonans wanted their legislators to have a bit 
of compassion.

I expect that there will be more political dislocations. If the US 
accepts climate refugees, they will compete for existing jobs. The 
Democratic Party has always tried to make immigrant communities as part 
of their political base. But they also have leaned heavily on labor 
union support that will act to protect their jobs for existing 
membership. This will not sort out quickly.

What does this mean for Greens? Neither of our presidential candidates, 
Kent Mesplay and Jill Stein, seem to have paid much attention to this 
issue. If they were to do so, if they were to focus on building a 
national policy based on compassion, I am sure that they will find 
acceptance in the electorate.

Additional Information: Green Party Platform on Immigration / Migration 
<http://www.gp.org/committees/platform/2010/social-justice.php#1002510>.


--
Posted By Wes to California Greening 
<http://cagreening.blogspot.com/2011/11/immigration-is-policy-of-compassion.html> 
at 11/09/2011 10:03:00 PM
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