My father spent his high school years living in Corpus Christi, Texas. It was there that he met his two best friends, Bob and Lloyd. The trio would all go to Texas A&M together and remain so close that they might have been brothers.
I have always felt that my father would have liked to find work in Corpus Christi so that he might live there. I know that he tried numerous times but nothing ever came of his applications. The last time that he attempted to find a way to be a permanent citizen of that city was only months away from the day when he died at the age of thirty three.
My father loved the idea of living near Corpus Christi Bay and spending time along the Gulf of Mexico. He was at his happiest when he was there fishing, not so much to win a prize or for food but just to feel the ocean breezes blowing on his face. I remember that while he was job hunting there he kept his fishing pole and gear in the trunk of our car so that he might head for the ocean on a whim. My eight year old job was to sit quietly next to him marveling at his patience in waiting for a fish to bite.
My father was a Mechanical Engineer and he loved to talk about the potential of the future that was to be found in engineering. He liked the idea of building things and marveled at the possibility that the world might one day learn how to desalinate the waters of the ocean in ways so economically sound that nobody would ever have to worry about having enough of the liquid that we all need to survive. Back in the mid-nineteen fifties that idea was still a bit of an engineering dream much like traveling to the moon.
If my father had lived he would have seen mankind’s ability to move beyond the limitations of our earthly atmosphere. While desalination of water has grown in the Middle East, it still provides only one percent of the water that humans use on this earth. Of late it is finding more and more favor in Florida and California but much still needs to be done before desalination provides humans with a constant source of water from the oceans on a large scale.
I’ve been thinking of my father’s excitement over the idea of bringing water to the people of the world from the vast supply in the oceans. In recent times with global warming there are troubling trends threatening different locales in the United States where the water supply is in danger of drying up. There are already places in Arizona where lovely neighborhoods once stood that have been abandoned because the sources of water became dry.
Now my father’s old home of Corpus Christi is facing a dire situation. Without rain and with the increasing use of water as the city and its industries have grown the water supply is threatened with some believing that there will be none to be had in some areas before the end of this year. Already residents are under strict rationing rules that become more and more draconian as no signs of relief drain the existing water supply.
The double edged sword for the citizens of Corpus Christi is that they must have the businesses and industries that create jobs but those entities are using a disproportionate amount of the existing water. To use a cliche, they are damned if the do and damned if they don’t limit the water needed to run the refineries and plants that provide the funding that keeps the lights on in the town. Ironically there is water water everywhere in the bay and ocean around them but not a drop that they can drink.
There has been talk of building a desalination plant in Corpus Christi for years but the cost of doing so has always seemed prohibitive. Suddenly the idea is catching hold again but time is fleeting and even if the funding became available today the work would not be done before many residents may find themselves turning on a tap that runs dry.
Corpus Christi is not the only place in Texas that is being threatened with a shortage of water. Much of the beautiful Texas Hill Country has been so dry that spring and summer wildfires are common. Many of the loveliest neighborhoods are banned from watering grass or plants for more than a few minutes each week. The land is dry and parched which also lends itself to flash flooding when it does finally rain. In spite of the warning signs more and more people are moving into the area and building new homes
The scientists and engineers are fully aware of the problems but the brokers of real estate just keep ignoring the threats in so many parts of the United States. We take that moisture that fills our lakes and our wells for granted without considering the consequences of what will happen if a dry spell lingers too long.
There are answers to the problems that we face but they will take inventive souls and the will of the people to expend the funds to reassure the growing population that their homes will not become ruins when and if the water that feeds them is gone. We have to begin thinking ahead of environmental tragedies rather than only reacting to them once they have already happened. The days of putting our heads in the sand are going to create tragedies if we fail to pay attention and to make the sacrifices that are needed. I hate to think of Corpus Christi or any other place on this lovely planet becoming uninhabitable because we were not stewards of the land. I hear my father’s voice growing excited over the possibilities of solving such problems. Perhaps it’s long past time to bring the engineers together on a new project as exciting as going to the moon. Insuring sources of water for humans is indeed a very noble project.
All It Takes Is A Little Love 