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June 28, 2007
Green
Desert
By Jack D. McNamara
We
spent most of June in the hands of the Medical Establishment. This
required frequent road trips in order that I might become acquainted
with most of the X-ray machines in West Texas. That, however, is of
less interest than the fact that our landscape is unusually green.
Thursday, June 22 was the longest day of the year. It was also one of
the wettest days in many years of accumulated rainfall.
Here in Greater Alpine various reports establish that we have received
more than 10 inches of rain (and a lot of hail) in May and June. The
monsoon traditionally does not begin until later so these are literally
“spring” rains.
A similar pattern occurred a couple of years ago and we received more
than 30 inches of rain that year. On August 13, 2005 the Big Bend
Sentinel and KVLF reported that Alpine had received a record rainfall
of 3.92 inches.
Such a trend, as the ancient seers say, augurs well.
And June 22 is the Summer Solstice, a day for auguring. In southwest
England, latter-day witches and druids gather at Stonehenge to commune
with the huge megaliths placed there as long as 3000 years ago. They
watch the sun rise in alignment with notches in the stones and wonder
at the wisdom of the ancients and their works. A financial planner
drinking vodka and beer told the Associated Press, “I love the whole
vibe and the energy and the fact that these stones, that they are
alive, they do breathe, and they do grow … and they’re massive.”
The stones may be alive, indeed. For our purposes here in the arid
Southwest we might be excited enough to think of all that rainfall
enlivening our groundwater supplies. Thirty inches of rain every few
years will do more than make the grass green. Our local newspapers are
silent on the issue so far, but what do the water well gauges show? The
city of Alpine profits about $1 million annually from the sale of water
but the city hasn’t been selling much water for lawn watering lately.
Recent rains should provide a benchmark for intelligent planning.
Speaking of intelligent planning, it appears the Bush Administration is
again stiffing the U.S. Congress regarding Mexican trucks’ access to
the U.S. In late May Congress stipulated in a funding supplemental that
the 1000 Mexican trucks proposed for a pilot program to open the border
must meet U.S. safety standards. The Bush Administration has simply
declared that the trucks pass the test.
If these 1000 trucks of the
“pilot” program start rolling, perhaps we
will see in fact
whether they will use the
Presidio-Ojinaga port of
entry or not.
The NAFTA-globalization forces certainly have other options cooking.
There is the “corridor” planned from Kansas City to Lazaro Cardenas in
Michoacan. “Thanks to an innovative series of international agreements,
infrastructure improvements and new technologies, this corridor is a
reality …” says a publicity release.
The route bypasses Mexico’s mountains. They already have a railroad,
Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM). The route goes through San
Luis Potosi, Monterrey, and Laredo (see www.kcsmartport.com).
Over on Mexico’s northwest coast, just south of Ensenada, the Baja
California government is planning a “megaport” with a railroad. The San
Diego Union (online) of March 7 quotes local officials to the effect
that the megaport will be as large as the ports of Long Beach and Los
Angeles combined.
But the Baja California Governor Eugenio Elorduy Walther is criticized
for secretiveness. Governor Elorduy says, “The need of keeping it
proper institutionally means that not anybody can be speaking about the
project.”
A principal criticism is that the companies who did the Punta Colonet
feasibility study will profit from secret information. The governor
responds “When the decision is made, because of the previous work, all
the information will be available to everybody … It will be so open
that anybody can feel that if they are not satisfied, they have the
legal right to make their opinions known.”
What a relief. The pattern in Baja is the same as here. The pols,
bureaucrats and consultants make the decision; then they call a public
meeting; then they refine their previous decision; then they thank us
for our input. Of course we have a “legal right” to our opinion after
their decision is announced. Thank you very much for the opportunity to
participate.
We may have a place in Texas for Governor Elorduy, who is retiring. •
(Also published by the Big Bend Sentinel
of Marfa, Texas June 28, 2007.)
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