Support global education initiative
Re: May 9 commentary, “Global education push needs U.S. help.”
I was pleased to see the editorial on global education. I agree that a quality education will pay dividends for those 29 million elementary schoolage children not now in school. It will also benefit businesses in the U.S. as those 29 million are able to earn enough to purchase our goods and services. I hope our members of Congress will encourage the administration to make that pledge of $250 million over two years to the Global Partnership for Education. Reps. McCaul, Williams, Smith, Carter and Flores can do that by signing a letter being circulated in Congress right now. Let’s not miss this opportunity.
Texans are known to be fiercely opinionated and independent, uniquely proud of the Lone Star State. As a native, I certainly agree, but I’d go a step further: We also exude an intense pride in our cities. Ask anyone from Dallas or Houston which city is best and you’ll get a definitive answer and an earful about why. Ask an Austinite whether he or she would rather live in San Antonio, or vice versa, and prepare yourself for a forceful reply.
But it’s not just our city identity we’re eager to flaunt. As Texans adjust to a third year of drought, the debates about water — who has it, who needs it, who gets it — have become louder and more urgent. And it seems as if everyone has taken a side.
The stakeholders in this debate have been well defined. Since 2011, we’ve seen the agricultural sector pummeled by the drought, with ranchers forced to cull their herds and Southeast Texas rice farmers cut off from upstream water supplies. Local chambers of commerce have grown nervous about some of Texas’ largest cities being perceived as vulnerable to drought and lacking water security. And cities have engaged in a continual balancing act to address people’s needs in the midst of dwindling supplies. Bloomberg News recently reported that Wichita Falls, in the midst of its worst drought ever, is awaiting state approval to begin recycling up to 5 million gallons of wastewater per day in order to pump it directly back to residents to drink.
Nature has taken some hard hits, too. Roughly 306 million trees across the state have died since 2011. Statewide, aquifers are just 64 percent full, less than this time last year. Lakes and rivers have also receded, stoking concerns about pollution and higher salinity levels, which can affect habitat quality for sea life and water quality for people. So what can we do?
Water is something none of us can live without. But when water is discussed among stakeholders from its four primary users — cities, agriculture, business and nature — what typically results is fighting. Eventually, farmers are pitted against cities and businesses fight environmentalists. This type of circular firing squad turns water into a zero-sum, winner-take-all game.
We know that 60 percent of our population already lives in one of our four major Texas cities, and that number is only going to grow. As it does, our cities will need to supply more people, farmers and ranchers will need to expand production, and the energy and business sectors will need to expand to meet our growing needs. By 2060, Texas’ population will have jumped to roughly 46 million, which will increase demand for fresh water by more than 20 percent.
This means all of us are going to have to do more with less and recognize that a sustainable future depends on shared sacrifice. Innovative thinking will be crucial to this. One example is urban-rural partnerships, in which cities give incentives to farmers to alter their techniques in order to conserve water. Ideas like this highlight the unique ways stakeholders can work together.
Instead of choosing winners and losers, let’s start by talking about how to optimize current water supplies and serve our shared needs adequately and with fairness. Water is the thread that binds us together and the single most important natural resource we have.
The stakes couldn’t be higher for getting this right. Envision a state lacking the necessary resources and infrastructure to provide people with clean, fresh water — what do you see? A landscape in which nothing can thrive. Let’s work together to ensure a better Texas for ourselves and future generations.