Thread: Study warns of U.S. immigrants' CO2 emissions

New blame leveled
Study warns of U.S. immigrants' CO2 emissions

Stephen Wall, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 08/17/2008 10:30:32 PM PDT

Immigrants, especially illegal ones, can't seem to catch a break these days.

They've been blamed for the demise of the nation's public education and health-care systems.

Now, in a new study by a Washington, D.C., think tank, they're accused of contributing to global warming.

High levels of immigration, both legal and illegal, significantly increase worldwide greenhouse-gas emissions, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. The organization favors strict limits on immigration to the United States.

"The health of the planet is better if they remain in their home countries," said Steven Camarota, the center's director of research and co-author of the report.

On average, immigrants increase their carbon dioxide emissions fourfold by coming to America, the study says.

People who migrate to the United States generally aspire to improve their standard of living. This often entails a higher level of energy consumption, thus producing more carbon dioxide, according to the study released last week.

Less-developed countries in Asia and Latin America, which are the primary immigrant-sending regions, have much lower annual per-capita carbon dioxide emissions than the United States, the study says.

Before they come to this country, most immigrants from developing nations lead a much less energy-intensive lifestyle than they do when they get to the United States. Back home, most don't drive cars, and they consume a lot less electricity, Camarota said.

Critics question the motives of the organization that put out the study as well as the science behind it.

"Here we go again, using Latinos and immigrants as a scapegoat," said Latino activist Gil Navarro, a member of the San Bernardino County Board of Education. "They did the same thing with the Chinese and the Irish."

The study is "little more than a thinly veiled attempt to advance an anti-immigration agenda by appealing to Americans' concerns over other issues," according to America's Voice, an online pro-immigrant advocacy group.

Jim Mulvihill, professor emeritus of geography and environmental studies at Cal State San Bernardino, said the study's assumptions "are drawn from very gross generalizations."

It's true that immigrants from less developed areas do not consume as much coal, oil and natural gas as the typical American, Mulvihill said.

But activities that people perform in those regions, particularly agriculture, produce large amounts of carbon dioxide, he said.

Oxen, hogs and poultry - animals associated with agriculture - produce tremendous amounts of carbon dioxide in their feces, which are applied to fields as fertilizers, or consumed as fuels for heating, Mulvihill said.

Immigrants also tend to be younger, so even if they have advanced degrees and are professionals, they earn less than the comparable American on a per-capita basis, Mulvihill said.

"Even if you have a college education and are only 25, you won't be able to buy a Lamborghini or a Mercedes," he said of immigrants.

Camarota said the study is not intended to bash immigrants, noting that they produce slightly less greenhouse gases than the average native-born American.

But the impact of immigration on the environment cannot be ignored, he said.

If immigration levels continue, the U.S. population will grow from about 305 million today to 468 million by 2060, according to the Center for Immigration Studies.

At least 30 million legal and illegal immigrants are likely to settle in the United States over the next 20 years, the study says.

If immigrants in the United States made up their own country, they would rank seventh in the world in annual carbon dioxide output, ahead of such countries as Canada, France and Great Britain, the study states.

"Immigration has very significant implications for greenhouse-gas emissions, and we should be thinking about that," Camarota said. "If we are going to have large numbers of immigrants, we have to understand the implications for the global environment."
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_10233426

They've been blamed for the demise of the nation's public education and health-care systems.

Um, because they're guilty!