Climate change within the Big Bend
Climatologists at Yale University have described climate change in Texas as a battle between the “Haves and the Have Nots.” To the south, with the Gulf of Mexico warming, “huge influxes of moisture” are bringing more rain and flooding. However, the dry desert air in the West is producing droughts with much less moisture. Mexico is experiencing a severe, ongoing drought that, according to the National Weather Service, could be partly responsible for the drought experienced here in Jeff Davis County. Our drought persists, with half of the county suffering from severe drought, and the other half from extreme drought.
(See https://www.drought.gov/states/texas/county/jeff%20davis)
Noted scientists at the Borderlands Research Institute’s 2024 Water in the Desert Conference have predicted an annual decrease of rain in the Big Bend with direct impacts on our water supplies. Without big conservation efforts, many regional aquifers could be depleted in future years. While acknowledging the need for changes in how we use our water, each of us can be a responsible part of the conservation solutions.
What we can do: We should take water conservation seriously and help with local conservation efforts. With regional towns and counties leading the way, we could start with what “the settlers used to do” — catch rainwater in our tanks and cisterns for outdoor and home uses. We could require (or recommend) the use of low flush toilets; plant native plants, cactus, and drought tolerant trees, with rocks and stone for landscaping; use buffalo grass that greens out with the rain and goes dormant when none appears. New construction designs could use gray water for outdoor needs. All these options would extend our water supplies. They could become part of a permitting process for construction or, as a start, offered as recommended options with new permits.
As the changing climate brings new challenges to people, it also brings challenges for wildlife, including our 500 native bird species. Borderlands Research Institute and Trans-Pecos Bird Conservation (TBC) have written booklets on Water for Wildlife that are available online. TBC has placed a very helpful guide on water conservation at area libraries: Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond by Brad Lancaster. This publication provides details about what landowners can do to harvest rainwater to benefit people and wildlife.
Using these readily available tools, and with new conservation efforts and planning and involvement by county and community leaders, we citizens can practice water conservation and hopefully live in this beautiful region for many years to come.
Madge Lindsay
Jeff Davis County Democrats
Dear Editor,
Let me quote Alan Buxkemper in last week’s Sentinel story on Lowe’s overpricing: “We work super hard to make sure that we have fair, adequate, and accurate pricing.”
Really Mr. Buxkemper? We live in Fort Davis. Every week or 10 days we make a 146-mile round trip to Pecos to do our food shopping at a new grocery store there. It costs us about $25 in gas to do this. So we are losing money, right? Wrong. We are saving money, sometimes a lot of money. A large can of soup in the Fort Davis and Alpine Lowe’s is $4.39. In the store in Pecos it is $2.49. Asparagus at Lowe’s is $5.39 ($3.49 on sale) and $2.99 in Pecos. That is not a misprint, folks, those are accurate prices.
The bacon we like is $12.99 at Lowe’s and in Pecos, $10.99. I could go on, but you get the idea. We usually break even on our gas at less than $100 which is easy to spend nowadays at any grocery. The more we spend, the more we save over Lowe’s. I realize that we are a long distance away and there are shipping costs, but I don’t think that accounts for such a large discrepancy.
I want to make one thing clear. We like the people who work at the Fort Davis Lowe’s. They are uniformly nice people, and we don’t believe we have ever been cheated there. Our argument is with Mr. Buxkemper and the people he employs to set prices. It seems to us that “fair” pricing to Mr. Buxkemper equals all the traffic we will bear. Unfortunately, we have to treat the Fort Davis store like a convenience store because it has convenience store prices. We grocery shop 73 miles away simply because we cannot afford to shop in Fort Davis.
Bill Case
Fort Davis
Dear Editor,
Three years have passed since March 30, 2021, when my daughter Molly Theiss Klein was killed. She lived in Alpine and attended Sul Ross State University from the age of 19, graduating with honors and a master’s degree in biology. She was survived by her two sons, Theiss Aramis Hebert and Ryder Alwin Romero.
The man accused of failing to render aid resulting in a death pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 40 years with the Texas Department of Corrections. Justice has been served. Thank you to all of you who loved Molly and were kind to her and her children, who listened and enjoyed her unique view of life. She loved her home on Mile High Road, and I can only hope the mountains will echo her sweet voice. My seventh nonfiction book deals with the subjects of aging, death of my daughter Molly, raising and homeschooling my grandson, and cancer. The book, The Old Lady and the Kid, as well as my other six books, are available on Amazon.
Sonja Rose Klein, her loving mother
Barksdale, Texas
Dear Editor, Dear Federal Government, Dear Fellow Frustrated Mail Recipients, Dear The Void I’ve Been Screaming Into Hoping Something Screams Back:
I would like to begin by making it very clear that this is in no way a personal attack against our new postmaster, Gisele Villanueva. While I may not agree with every decision that has been made, I appreciate that she is simply doing her job and the issues below are representative of a deeply flawed system.
I just want my mail.
The manner in which I’ve been addressing my deliveries borders on the absurd.
Ship to:
Jane 123 Doe 123
456 Main Street #123
Unit 123
Marfa, TX 79843-0123
And still, half of my mail is being returned. Sometimes, despite my pleas, companies remove the redundancies and “simplify” the address. Other times the address is not accepted and automatically changed by the USPS website during the label creation process. (The call is coming from inside the house!) Rarely, though, unfortunately, it is still happening, letters and packages are being returned despite being properly addressed. I find myself at a complete and utter loss.
Medical orders, checks, inventory for my small business — things that are directly affecting my health and livelihood — are unable to be delivered because we live in a place that does not offer home delivery and, now, through systemic tomfoolery, cannot reliably deliver to our only other option. I am currently awaiting a vital piece of mail that will decide the resident status of a 75-year-old woman. Will it arrive? Will my aging mother be deported because the Canadian government would not, or could not, add four digits to a mailing label?
Or I could just call them. Yes, hello, Canada? Can you check my mailing label, please?
I am begging for a solution. I hear Ms. Villanueva’s advice for addressing, I am doing every single thing in my power to adhere to it, but what do we do when it’s out of our hands?
I feel like I am stuck on a haunted carousel full of misinformation and mirrors, and every time I reach for a package slip it’s just a reflection. It’s not fun, no one is laughing, and I’d really love to get off now.
Begging for answers, please someone help us,
Lesley Villarreal
Marfa
Where are Ukraine war protesters?
The Ukraine War is in its third year, and Russia continues its attacks. Hopefully, the aid by the U.S. and European countries will help Ukraine fight off the Russian invasion and prevent Russia from overrunning Europe. The U.S. finally allowed Ukraine to hit targets on Russian territory utilizing U.S. arms.
Russia has unleashed devastating attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, including power plants, water distribution systems, warehouses, businesses and housing. Approximately, 12,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and over 20,000 injured. Thousands of Ukrainian children have been kidnapped and sent to Russia.
Why aren’t people protesting against the killing and wounding of Ukrainian civilians? Aren’t the Christians of Ukraine just as important as the Muslims of Gaza? Or is there a bias involved? Isn’t it important for the U.S. to support Ukraine and prevent a much wider war in Europe? Do the protesters care about the U.S., or do the protesters just want to create chaos and promote anarchy? Are they an anti-democracy Fifth Column? Maybe protesters should go to the Ukraine and Gaza war zones to make a meaningful impact.
We must continue to support Ukraine with military aid and donations by citizens. Note: I have contributed to a number of Ukrainian relief organizations.
Donald Moskowitz
Londonderry NH
