Environmental Analysis of a Specific Region-Big Bend

AREA ANALYSIS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND HUMAN HEALTH CONCERNS

For this analysis, the focus is the Big Bend Region of West Texas, which contains Presidio, Marfa, Alpine, Fort Davis, Marathon and parts surrounding the Rio Grande, as well as Big Bend National Park, which borders Mexico. This area sits on the native Jumanos and Mescalero Apache land. 

The Big Bend is part of the Chihuahuan Desert region, a semi-arid shrub-desert landscape, containing an avian and monarch butterfly migratory path. The area is surrounded by several mountain ranges and incredibly diverse set of grasses, shrubs and plant life as well as myriad animals and insects that are region-specific.

Marfa, Texas is a town that has a population of 1,788 persons, 76.2% of whom are American citizens and 69.1% of the total population are Hispanic.

Surrounding towns within the Big Bend include Alpine (pop. 5,992, 14.2% poverty rate; 51.5% Hispanic; 96.9% US Citizens); Fort Davis: (pop.1,029, poverty rate 5.73%, 58.2% Hispanic, 82.6% US Citizens); Valentine: (pop. 63, 28.6% Hispanic, 14.3% Native American); Presidio: (pop. 4,076, poverty rate: 40.1%, 92.5% Hispanic, 62.6% US Citizens); Terlingua: (pop. 82, poverty rate 14.6%); Marathon: (pop. 395, poverty rate 7.4%, 41.3% Hispanic).

It is notable that Presidio, the most directly bordering town to Mexico has an estimated nearly 40% undocumented population and Marfa has a nearly 25% possible undocumented population, as these populations will be especially vulnerable and depending on US policy, possibly blocked from governmental resources in emergency scenarios. Of note, this area- while one of the remaining dark sky zones in the United States, and offering incredibly rich biodiversity- is also proximate the Permian Basin, a large sedimentary basin containing the Mid-Continent Oil Field province, which produces “one out of every three barrels of oil…in the United States” (Kalifa and Krauss, 2020).

This proximity and the impending potential of fracking in the area, as well as the Trans Pecos pipeline, creates the risk of The Big Bend’s townships becomes oil or shale boom town(s) (and with another crisis or recession/depression, bust town) thereby destroying the landscape and species it homes and then deserting it, making it unlivable for generations to come, or hastening climate change impacts via direct human activity.

CLIMATE CHANGE CONCERNS in the area include: Wildfire, droughts, heat waves, desertification, fracking and natural gas oil pipelines, as well as possible extreme weather events such as freezes with ill-prepared infrastructure. 

Considering the semi-arid landscape and southwest location, even with the RCP 4.5 scenario, by 2070 the area may become less suitable for human life (Shaw and Lustgarten, 2020). 

With the RCP 8.5 Business as Usual model; by as soon as 2040, the entire region would be subject to extreme temperatures, possibly over 95 degrees Fahrenheit for six months a year (Shaw and Lustgarten, 2020).

As “[c]limate models predict warmer temperatures and less rain for the region” (n.a., 2014); the region will likely experience increased wildfires, which is already a concern in the area with the semi-arid shrub landscape and lightning storms that come down from the mountains north of town. Wildfire potentiality will only increase with fracking and natural gas pipelines.

EXISTENTIAL THREATS and INFRASTRUCTURE OBSTRUCTIONS

In addition to the climate change specificities specific to the region, I posit that Texas offers its own unique combination of existential threats such as privately owned land, a deregulated energy grid, oil company loopholes and libertarian, profit-forward and non-humanistic policies and regulations.

TEXAS OIL COMPANY LOOPHOLES including the Halliburton loophole allows 

amendments of the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water to exclude fracking liquids from being 

regulated or disclosed to constituents who live in areas where pipelines are built.

PROFIT-BASED LAND USAGE AND ENERGY COMPANY LEASES. 95.8% of Texas land is privately owned. A fundamental issue that creates more risk in this area that increases climate change and health issues is the way land is owned, managed and used in Texas. Much of the proposed drilling and exploratory land (135,000 acres) is already leased by energy companies as its on ranching and investment land privately owned. (Sierra)s

A DEREGULATED ENERGY GRID as we witnessed in the February state-wide winter storms and resultant outages

PATCHWORK INFRASTRUCTURE. In rural regions, it is not uncommon for houses to be off-code, and in Texas counties, due to the normally temperate climate, pipes can be 6” underground and on exterior walls, which can lead to myriad issues including burst pipes when temperatures drop.

A REPUBLICAN AND LIBERTARIAN GOVERNMENT, both of which tout an every-man-for-himself rule of law and throw sustainable energy solutions under the bus in order to save the profit-forward fossil fuel industry. Abbot, during the state-wide Texas February 2021 Winter Storm crisis blamed The Green New Deal, which is yet to be implemented (Mena, 2021). and Ted Cruz flew to Cancun.

And like much of the late capitalistic mentality of the United States, Texas suffers from the bifurcation of man versus nature, creating an assumed scenario where humans are the owner/operators of the land they live on rather than an animal as part of the biosphere, responsible for species-inclusive stewardship 

HEALTH CONCERNS

Considering the climate change concerns in the area, the dominant main climate health concerns in the Big Bend Region are as follows. I have highlighted and expounded upon the top three of focus:

DESERTIFICATION*: The main concerns as laid out by the IPCC Special Report, Chapter 3, per this region would be “loss of biodiversity” and “over-extraction…leading to groundwater depletion,” as well as “[u]nsustainable land management, particularly when coupled with droughts…contribut[ing] to higher dust-storm activity, reducing human well-eying in drylands…” (Mirzabaev, A., J. Wu, et al, in press)

FRACKING OR “SHALE PLAY” which contaminates drinking water, and “…release a toxic stew of air pollution that includes chemicals that can cause severe headaches, asthma symptoms, childhood leukemia, cardiac problems, and birth defects. In addition, many of the 1,000-plus chemicals used in fracking are harmful to human health—some are known to cause cancer” (n.d., NRDC). Fracking causes air pollution, ozone-forming pollutants, and leak methane and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), known contributors to cancer, asthma, and other severe illnesses (Coleman, 2013). The Balmorhea pool, the world's largest spring-fed pool, and area attraction for locals has already been closed for nearly (3) years as it cracked, in a rumored response to drilling exploratory wells in Reeves County.

PIPELINE BUILDING which spoils the landscape, disrupts the area's ecology and they are prone to explosions and wildfire-causing incidents. “Between 2009 and 2014 there was an 87% [uptick] of pipeline incidents” (Glover, n.d.). A conduit pipeline the proposed size of the Trans-Pecos pipeline could cause a blaze a square mile wide, impacting many families who would “live less than a mile from the…path.” (Glover, n.d.) Because this area is susceptible to drought and they will likely increase in the next few decades to come under either RCP 4.5 or 8.5, even small explosions could cause catastrophic wildfire scenarios.

PIPELINE BUILDING also “hasten[s] the expansion of desertification,” which creates biodiversity reverberations that threaten already-endangered species of lizards, birds and turtles and impact animals’ habitat and food supply (Glover, n.d.).

EXTREME HEATH AND HEAT-RELATED DEATH Extreme heat is the leading cause of weather and climate related death.

CARDIOVASCULAR FAILURE increased strain on the heart and cardio vascular system due to EHE create impaired body temperature thermoregulation, and lead to heat-related illness

AIR POLLUTION AND INCREASING ALLERGENS Particulate Matter (PM) from wildfire worsen seasonal allergies and respiratory conditions

WATER QUALITY IMPACTS* (partially due to fracking, partially due to over-selling it to other regions) Environmental Degradation- forced migration, civil conflict and mental health impacts 

UNDERNUTRITION food insecurity due to the remoteness of the region, there is the possibility of getting cut off from gas, and undergoing food shortages

PRIMARY HEALTH CARE CUT OFF  within a climate migration, it is likely some of the fledging practitioners would have the privilege to leave the area, leaving this already-medically-under-resourced area worse off

ADDITIONAL FREEZES improper generator use and indoor air pollutants, poisoning or death due to under-resourced heating

MENTAL STRESS even after power and water was restored in the Texas freeze, therapy clients were complaining of malaise, body aches, depression, insomnia and anxiety

THE SPECIFIC VULNERABLE SUB-POPULATIONS

Rural indigent population who suffer a lower baseline of mental and physical health tend to generally higher ACEs scores, increasing occurrence of inflammatory and chronic illnesses, including but not limited to autoimmune disorders, Alzheimer’s, cancer, chronic illness, heart disease, stroke, asthma, many of which contribute to higher morbidity and mortality. An ACE score 6 and above can reduce life by 20 years (Burke Harris, as told to Klein, 2021).

This area is a border town with a large population of undocumented and indigent populations, and Medically Indigent Adults (MIAs), which create a disproportionate impact on these populations during extreme weather events, heatwaves, or wildfires.

If this area becomes a shale boomtown region, it is not out of the realm of the possibility that the already reduced services for dental, medical, hospital and 

mental health services will not drastically decline as the privileged population searches for higher ground, so to speak.

Lack of public health and other infrastructure will mean that the Big Bend Region gets more deeply impacted by climate change and adverse health impacts. “Populations that do not have access to good quality health care and essential public health services are more likely to be adversely affected by climate variability (Smith KR, et al, 2014, p. 718).

Unlike many regions that will suffer under inadequate infrastructure due to population growth, this area is more likely to become less populated, 

particularly if the pipeline and fracking move forward and the water and air pollutants become more acutely dangerous to human health.

One issue of concern is that the non-native population will move out of the area, due to the privilege to move, leaving the native and indigent population less resourced based on the already present income disparity, which would incidentally cut off cash flow, as many programs are funded with grants procured by this population.

I have selected these populations as most vulnerable due to their “lack of capacity to cope and adapt” largely due to an already dwindling amount of resources, and US policy on health care for undocumented and indigent populations, as well as the propensity for this region to become even

more of a food and medical care desert (Slide 14, Week 2, Dubrow, 2021).