Dust Storms A' Comin'

Dust Storms have been plaguing the West Texas plains for as long as most can remember.  And the older community members, can remember as far as the "big one" in the 1930's.  But the past 80 years or so, have not been as bad, until just a few months ago, in Lubbock.  According to experts, due to the modern day irrigation of farm land, this should not be too common, but how do you stop a raging drought?

The problem we have here is the drought.  And a severe one.  The farmers used to keep plants growing in their fields, which would "hold the soil" down, for when those winds did come.  The plants have died, the cotton fields which once held everything down, are almost non-existent.  Texas farmers also do something they call "sand fighting" to keep the dirt from blowing away, by using a layer of silt on top of the ground, and the farmers poke small holes in the dirt, creating small mounds, like ant hills, that create a sort of resistance to the wind.  And this isn't just wind, it's wind speeds reached 74 mph in some places and visibility was far less than a quarter of a mile.  Dangerous conditions to say the least.  The wind also knocked out power lines (along with trees and other structural landscape) servicing about 210,000 of the city's inhabitants.  Dust so thick it hung in the air after the storm, filling the noses, ears and mouths of the folks living in the town, as well as anything that was located outdoors. Hopefully, Congress will not cut funding on the federal Conservation Reserve Program which keeps many farmers on the survival list, and comes up with new ways to minimize damage in the future.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44999113/ns/weather/t/more-dust-storms-expected-texas-drought-lingers/#.Tyc6DUYxzOk

Texas Drought Affecting More Than Texans

We take little notice of how the severe drought in Texas is affecting the world, and not just our backyards.    Texas produces over 50% of the cotton grown in the United States, which is then sold to other countries for their textiles.  The drought has had a severe affect on the cotton fields, leaving many farmers, with nothing but lint in their pockets, while international buyers are now turning to other cotton producing countries, like Brazil and Australia for their cotton needs.


Texas also supplies food to many areas of the country.  Farmers are now wondering how they are going to afford to keep their cattle alive, without water.  Many are selling the cattle they have, to try to make provisions for the ones they have.  But the problem is still lack of food and resources for these animals.  One rancher, Mr. Casey is trying to come up with some inventive ideas to keep his herd fed, and once his supply of what he calls "Cotton Trash" (byproduct of cotton gins that has the seeds and fibers removed), is close to "drying up", he is going to have to resort to burning thorns off prickly pear cacti that grow on his farm, to make them edible for cattle. Others order hay from hundreds of miles away from their farms, adding to the financial strain.  He, along with other farmers in his situation say that the situation would be less stressful if they knew what to expect.  But how does one plan for this?


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/31/business/energy-environment/catastrophic-drought-in-texas-causes-global-economic-ripples.html

Hotter than ???!

Memories of this past summer, should have been of swimming pools and ice cream cones, but it wasn't.  Everyone talked about the same thing, and it wasn't of their child's soccer game, it was, "So, what about this drought??"


According to meteorologists and and other weather fearing professionals, this upcoming summer is going to be the worst of Texas history thus far.  "I've started telling anyone who's interested that it's likely much of Texas will still be in severe drought this time next summer, with water supply implications even worse than those we are now experiencing," said John Nielsen-Gammon, the state climatologist and a Texas A&M University professor. And the reason for all of this?  La Nina. La Nina usually implicates a warm, dry winter, which though sound nice, can mean big problems for Texans. If the drought persists into next year, the state of Texas won't have the buffer of nearly full water reserves.  This is very scary.  Instead of daydreaming of summertime water sports, we need to be worrying about drinking water instead. Kind of makes "alternate lawn watering" days seem pretty insignificant.http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/This-summer-s-drought-may-worsen-next-year-2136436.php

Lost and Found

Since a severe drought has hit my home state, everyone talks about everything that has been lost.  Homes due to wildfires, cattle to dehydration and crops literally disintegrating from lack of water.  But what do you feel, when something you have lost, or in this case, SOMEONE you have lost, emerges from the lack of water?

The remains of a woman was found in a local farmer's lake, still strapped into her vehicle, due to the drought.  The farmer, and his grandsons investigated by boat, what they thought at first was a barrel, and turned out too be a car in their lake.  After local divers took a look further, they discovered the body of a woman, who had been declared missing by her family since July 2008.  Her family is finally getting closure on her disappearance after all this time. We are learning that this is less common than one would hope.  The drought is turning up all sorts of things, including the archeological remains of Native Americans, and parts of the Spaceship Columbia, which blew up in 2003.  I guess you never know what mysteries you'll find when it stops raining!http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/30/us/texas-drought-is-revealing-secrets-of-the-deep.html

Spicewood Beach Becoming Arid

The droughts of this past summer, have affected all communities large and small in the Central Texas region.  I was interested to hear of a small town, Spicewood Beach, located not so far from our own town of Austin, that has gotten themselves in quite a situation.

After selling their wells. because they could not maintain them properly and safely for the community, the new owner, LCRA, the Lower Colorado River Authority, who develops and distributes water supplies, monitors treatment, etc, now own dry wells because of the drought.  The town is expected to pay for their water supply from an outside source, which will be delivering up to 5000 gallons of water a day.  This is going to put a financial strain on the citizens of Spicewood Beach, causing it to become arid in more ways than one.


http://www.texastribune.org/texas-environmental-news/environmental-problems-and-policies/spicewood-beach-days-away-from-running-out-water/