Lesson 3: What immigrants have to do
to be in the US?
Lesson 4: Immigrants trying to adapt
Lesson 5: Immigrants difficulties
More than 1 million immigrants became legal permanent
residents (LPRs) of the United States in 2011. Of the new US residents, 14%
came from Mexico, 7.9% from China, and 6.4% from India. As of 2013, the Obama
administration had removed nearly 2 million immigrants, the highest number
under any president. Teach your friends about the unjust treatment of undocumented
immigrants. Sign up for Faces of Immigration. The immigration process allows
priority to foreign nationals who have a close family relationship with a US
citizen or LPR, have needed work skills, have refugee or asylee status, or are
native of countries with low immigration rates to the US. Every year, more than
half of new LPRs are current residents whose status is changed to permanent.
People usually move to new countries in search of honest work
for decent pay. Most immigrants work and pay taxes, so they actually help their
new nation's economy rather than hurt it. In some cases, new arrivals in a
country do compete for jobs with people already living there. But more often,
new immigrants take low-paying jobs that others don't want, or create their own
businesses and jobs. In the United States, two out of three new immigrants have
either permanent or temporary legal status, meaning they're absolutely allowed
to be in the country. Of the one-third of immigrants who are undocumented,
about half of them entered the U.S. through a legal way, and the other half
crossed the border secretly. Statistics show that in the U.S., immigrants are
less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans. It can be hard to
learn a new language and adapt to a new culture, especially for older adults.
But most immigrants understand that learning the native language and customs
can help them fit in, and even get better jobs. Younger immigrants and the
children of immigrants usually find it easier to adapt. Many immigrants apply
for citizenship, but depending on the laws of their new country, this can be a
long and complicated process. Often, a person must live in a nation for many
years before becoming a citizen is even an option.
Lead was used in early model cars to help
reduce engine knocking, boost octane ratings, and help with wear and tear on
valve seats within the motor. Due to concerns over air pollution and health
risks. This type of gas was slowly phased out starting in the late 1970′s and
banned altogether in all on road vehicles in the U.S. in 1995. A General Motors
chemist in 1922 found that adding a lead compound to fuel smoothed the ride. But
also over time, other manufacturers found that by adding lead to fuel they
could significantly improve the octane rating of the gas. This allowed them to
produce much cheaper grades of fuel and still maintain the needed octane
ratings that a car’s engine required. Lead was good for cars but bad for the
living things. The compound harmed child’s mental development and could cause
nervous system and blood pressure conditions in there adulthood. The
Environmental Protection Agency started to take out the leaded gas in 1974. Overcoming
legal battles with refiners. A federal appeals court ruled in 1980 that the EPA
could set standards "to act in the face of uncertainty." Little did
they known that the GM chemist who came up with leaded gas also invented a
ozone-destroying CFCs, leaving historian J.R. McNeill to conclude that Thomas
Midgley Jr. "had more impact on the atmosphere than any other single
organism in Earth history.
Problems
with lead were known even before major oil companies began using it. In 1922,
while plans for production of leaded gasoline were just getting out. Thomas
Midgley received a letter from Charles Klaus, a German scientist stating that
lead, “it’s a creeping and malicious poison” and warned that it had killed a
fellow scientist. Ignoring the warnings production on leaded gasoline began in
1923. It didn't take long for workers to begin dyeing due to lead poisoning. At
DuPont’s manufacturing plant in Deep Water, New Jersey workers began to fall
like dominoes. One worker died in the fall of 1923. Three died in the summer of
1924 and four more in the winter of 1925.
In 1974,
after environmental hazards began to become really bad, the EPA announced a
scheduled phase out of lead content in gasoline. One way manufacturers met
these and other emission standards was to use catalytic converters. Catalytic
converters use a chemical reaction to change pollutants, like carbon monoxide
and other harmful hydrocarbons, to carbon dioxide, nitrogen and water.
Tetraethyl lead would tend to clog up these converters making them not functional.
Thus, unleaded gasoline became the fuel of choice for any car with a catalytic
converter. This hasn't completely gotten rid of leaded gasoline. You are still permitted to use it for off road vehicles, aircraft, racing cars, farm
equipment, and marine engines, in the United States.
