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According to orderwriters.com, Immigration in the United States has been described as its main source of prosperity, although an analysis into the issue proves that it is a major problem in the country (Maps of the world web). Illegal and legal immigration are the two forms of immigration and the two are distinguished from their legal status and condition. Although the two forms of immigration are common in the US, illegal immigration remains as a contentious issue that the country has to solve (Yoshida 11). Illegal immigration has been associated with most problems affecting the country such as insecurity and strain on resources. Illegal immigrants are people who enters into the countries boarders without the right documentations or people who have stayed into the country beyond an expiry of their visa. These two categories of illegal immigrants are common in the country and this makes the problem of illegal immigration to be a major issue that is of concern to the government and the people. Studies by Center for Immigration Studies have shown that the number of illegal immigrants in the US dropped from 12.5 million in 2007 to 11 million in 2008. The studies also go on to show that Mexican immigrants constitute 56% of the total immigrants, while the Latin Americans and Africans form the remaining fraction with the Latin America forming the majority (Wessenger 19). The illegal immigrants continue to cost the United States billions of dollars annually and therefore it is an economic as well as a social problem (Stares 35). From this statement by Stares, it is evident that immigration problem is a major problem in the United States and therefore the country should strive to obtain solutions to the problem (Schrag 28).
To begin with, illegal aliens compete with the citizens and this creates significant social and economic problems (Hing 140). From this statement, it is obvious that the problem of illegal immigration is an economical problem more than it is any other problem and therefore it should be solved through an economic approach. In addition, illegal immigration is a consequence and not a problem. Therefore, any solution to the problem should address the real problem that is related to the economy. In most situations, people migrate from low income earning states to high-income states with the prospects of a better future and this is the main cause of immigration in the United States. In particular, people leave their countries and states for the US hoping to find a better life (Ratha and Behera 143). In order to solve the problem of immigration, the federal government should promote or encourage economic development especially in low-income states. The government can achieve this objective through initiatives that are aimed at job creation and economic recovery. The government should also encourage the establishment of small and medium scale business so that people can have an extra source of income. States with low economic potentials have also accused the central government of giving priorities to highly developed states in the provision of essential service. Lack of essential services is also closely associated with the economic capacity of a state and therefore the federal government should encourage economic development of such states (Hjarno 91). The government can therefore encourage investment particularly foreign investment into these states in order to stimulate economic development. With equal and balanced development in all states, the federal government can reduce or eliminate immigration problem.
Secondly, immigration is a legal matter since the law of the country is the only measure that has the capacity to determine legal and illegal immigrants (Law 244). In addition, there are many loopholes in our law that allows illegal immigration and therefore law reforms are necessary. On the other hand, there are certain situations that make immigration unavoidable and therefore law reforms should be affected to take care of such situations (Coates 23). This implies that any reforms on immigration law should be comprehensive in order to include all-important factors. Any effective law reforms should therefore consider the working conditions and immigration need of the citizens at the same time maintaining law and order. The law should be reformed in order to include the working and family needs of the immigrations (Chiswick 115). With these reforms, federal government can eliminate all the loopholes that are currently present in the law that allows for illegal immigrations.
Finally, immigration in the US is a major problem, on top of that, it is a long-term problem, and therefore it requires long-term strategies and solutions (Laham 115). This implies that the US should consider the root causes of this problem instead of concentrating with the resultant problem of immigration. The US government should therefore consider the factors that make people leave their country in search for a better life in the United States and address them. Some of these problems are economic while others are related to social factors such as conflicts (Robertson 544). The US government should therefore take a leading role in initiating development projects in such countries in order to reverse immigration. In addition to this, the US government should play a leading role in establishing sustainable social development in such countries.
The oil industry is a major contributor to most of the immigrations and in particular, the United States produces about 9% of the world's oil but uses 25% of global oil production (Miller and Spoolman 284). The statement by Miller and Spoolman is obvious that the more we continue to produce oil the more the demand for oil increase. Increase in oil production implies increased consumption and more environmental problems. Oil production and problems are two contradicting ideas since initially oil production aimed at the creation of solutions. This however has not been the case since we are currently experiencing more problems than solutions for our problems. In addition, the more we produce oil the more we find or invent new ways of using the same oil that we are producing and therefore the more oil we produce the more problems we create (Frosch and Gallopoulos 212). The main area that has been of great concern in this whole idea of oil production and the oil industry is the environment. As much as we develop and modernize, we still need the environment as natural and clean as it was in the beginning. This however has not been the case since we have compromised with the environment in the attempt to develop the world. Although oil production and oil industry was designed to be a solution to our global problem, it has ended up being a problem on its own and therefore invention of oil is just like solving a problem by creating another problem (Manahan 54).
The oil industry produces fossil fuels as their main products although the industry has other important products. In order for us to utilize these products then there has to be the burning of these fossil fuels and this is the main source of all problems associated with the fossil fuels and the oil industry. Scientists have warned that burning of fossil fuels introduces harmful gases such as carbon dioxide to the environment (Priest 519). The current issue of global warming finds its cause from the burning of fossil fuels and it is a major concern (Graedel and Allenby 24). The more we produce oil the more we increase demand for the product and this has resulted in the quest for excessive drilling, which results into environmental degradation. Scientists claim that the current global oil reserves will deplete soon and this has led to over exploration and encroachment into natural habitats (Clarke 141). With all these problems at hand, the oil industry should lead in finding solutions for these problems. In addition, these problems are global and therefore they require global solutions and strategies. The possible solutions to these problems include; reducing oil consumption by regulating production and consumption, promoting technical innovations that are directed towards creation of alternative sources of energy and encouraging energy saving. The oil industry can take these initiatives as solutions to the problems resulting from the industry. Although some of these solutions are not the exact solutions, a combination of them can produce better and sustainable results (Hoffmeier 19). Scientists claim that oil combustion produces harmful gases on top of carbon dioxide that pollutes the atmosphere in addition to this the carbon dioxide depletes the o zone layer. Carbon dioxide is a harmful pollutant both to animals and to plants.
Environmental pollution is the most significant problem associated with the oil industry although there are other problems. Environment is the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat and the space we occupy and all these factors are as important as the energy we need to drive our economy. Due to modernization and economy mindedness, the environment has been neglected at the expense of development and the economy (Conaway 21). The result of this neglect is the introduction of harmful substances into the environment that affects both the environment and the people. With these problems as a threat, the oil industries need to implement the necessary measures in order to reduce or eliminate the problems. The first initiative that the industry can take in order to solve the environmental problem is reducing consumption of oil. Due to our development needs, reducing oil consumption seems unrealistic, but it is the best solution to dealing with the problem (Socolow 57). There are methods the industry can use to reduce oil consumption, which involves the control of consumption and production. To begin with, the oil industry has the capacity to reduce oil production and this can be achieved through regulation of activities of the companies involved in the industry. The industry therefore has the capacity to regulate the operations of these industries in order to check their production capacity. To begin with, the industry can impose strict conditions that the companies have to achieve in order to be licensed or allowed to operate in the industry. The industry can also impose a quota system requiring that the companies should not exceed a certain limit in their oil output (Brown 226). These measures may be difficult to achieve since economic principles that dictate that production should be in relation to consumption governs the oil industry.
The industry however can work against these principles based on environmental importance. The industry can also use the fact that a minority owns the oil industry while majority depends on the environment for their survival (Falola and Genove 91). From these principles, it is possible to convince players in the industry that they also need the environment in one way or the other. Control of consumption is the next principle that the oil industry can apply in order to reduce production and use of oil. Recently, the global oil prices have reached their peak and an increase in the prices can affect the economy negatively. This current situation is contentious and therefore price control presents a good strategy that the industry can apply to check oil production and consumption (Robert 34). The price of a commodity determines the consumer's power and also the consumer's choice and dependence on alternative products (Robertson 251). Increasing the oil prices therefore will make the consumers reduce their consumption or search for other alternatives. In addition, an increase in price will ensure that the producers get enough revenues without excessive production. An increase in global oil prices will also act as a catalyst for the search of alternative sources of energy.
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