Commentary and Constructive Criticism

Adela Moreno recently wrote a post about her concerns for early start education in Texas. She provided personal experience and thoughtful insight into the problem of early start education and the unequality that exists in Texas. She explained that low income children are often eligible for early start education to help them through the system, and how research shows success in these programs.

I agree with the idea that early start education helps those who participate in it, and I also agree that it should be more available to anyone who wants it. I started Pre-K at age 3, giving me 2 years of schooling before actual grade school and I contribute part of my scholastic success to that. I believe that the sooner a child is involved in active learning and education, the child will establish good habits of learning and storing information.

Thank you for your insightful post, Adela!

The Surprises Could Be Deadly

Anyone that wakes up and goes outside anywhere in the Austin area should know by now that we are in the midst of a very dangerous drought. In fact, this drought has been going on for almost a decade. New Austinites and young people are growing up accustomed to the lakes being at dangerously low levels, and islands everywhere on Lake Travis. The drought is doing more than cut off our recreational activities- it has made us come dangerously close to running out of local water supply, and some municipalities have already brought in water from other parts of the state. As the problem has persistently gotten worse, Austin and its surrounding suburbs have put various restrictions on the use of water in reaction to the decreasing water levels. There is an attempt being made to preserve the water we have, but it just hasn't been good enough.

Scientists at Texas A&M and Texas Tech University have forseen and studied this drought. There are demographical predictions as to what could happen within the next century based on what has been happening already. Studies show that the average temperature will continue rising, ever so slightly, but still depleting water sources. People in cities will be able to adjust to changes better than people elsewhere, specifically in agricultural areas. It is very possible to transfer water to cities that need it, or relocate in order to have more access to water. However, it is going to be more difficult when farmers run out the very source of growth for their crops. They will have to move North, and the change will be difficult. What some propose, and what I agree with, is a change in how we approach the problem that is at our doorstep.

The government in the state of Oklahoma has consistently worked with some scientists that study changes in the environment. With this close alliance, the state is more able to prepare for likely circumstances such as drought or another environmental disruption. Preventative measures allow the state to be better off in the long run. In regards to Texas, there are already some government leaders working with scientists to study the possible changes in demographics due to the environment, but more attention needs to be paid to the issue. I think as we anticipate the changes coming, we will be more apt to move through them with minimal damage as opposed to reacting to a change we didn't anticipate. Being one step ahead of the problem could really help us in the long run.

Commentary and Constructive Criticism

Among other things that Texas ranks low in, the Lone Star State ranks low compared to the rest of the United States in environmental conditions. Thankfully, the City of Austin has begun to address this problem and implement new policies to preserve the environment.

Austin has recently gone "bagless". This means that stores in Austin no longer provide plastic bags, and in some places paper bags are a small fee. Texas Within's blog post about this issue calls for action, backing the movements in Austin and expecting the rest of the state to follow. As a native Austinite, I am proud of the way the city is making movements to not only save money on bags, but protect the environment from harmful production emissions and superfluous waste. I admit it was a bit annoying to remember my reusable bags when going shopping at first. However, I've concluded that the convenience of plastic bags is not worth the waste caused by them. We, in developed suburbia sometimes don't take into consideration the damage we do by making things convenient for ourselves, such as overusing plastic bags which kill wildlife indirectly. Reusable bags have existed for years, but only recently has it been an official public policy that consumers but use them. I think that the government getting involved with this has helped the effectiveness of the movement. I also agree that because of the success in Austin, the policy needs to expand to the rest of the state to continue to affect the environment. Thank you, Nirmal, for your thoughts of the subject and for moving to call the rest of the state to action.