Photograph by Adam Voorhes.
July 2012
Table of Contents
Features
The Truth About Texas: Water = LifeAs last year’s historic drought reminded us, Texas has always lived life by the drop, just a few dry years away from a serious crisis. With our population expected to nearly double over the next fifty years, this situation is about to become more, not less, challenging. This month we look at the past, present, and future of water and drought in Texas and explore the solutions that give us hope. The Writing on the WallThe Lower Pecos River rock paintings were created four thousand years ago by a long-forgotten people. But their apparent message may be as useful today as it was then: Follow the water. When the Sky Ran DryBad as the current drought is, it has yet to match the most arid spell in Texas history. Nearly two dozen survivors of the fifties drought remember the time it never rained. |
Between Hell and TexasOver the past year, state photographer Wyman Meinzer has roamed the Big Empty, documenting the drought’s toll. Will he ever take another pretty picture? Drawing StrawsThe future is likely going to require us to move large amounts of water from wet but sparsely populated places (a.k.a. East Texas) to thirsty, booming cities. Good thing there’s a plan for that. There is a plan, right? Industrial EvolutionAs much as anything, the Texas economic miracle depends on water. Lots of water. So what are all those power plants, refineries, and factories going to do as the state gets drier and drier and drier? |
Columns
Letter from Palm BeachGoodman Gone BadFlamboyant Houston millionaire John Goodman’s trial for vehicular manslaughter was a circus. Somewhere in the middle of it, the guy I used to know was thinking . . . what exactly? Sarah BirdMeat, My MakerWhen Dallas’s very own Marvin Lee Aday—that’s Meat Loaf to you—optioned one of my screenplays, he didn’t just offer me a glimpse of paradise by the dashboard lights. He also helped me write a novel. |
The TexanistOffering Fine Advice Since 2007Unwelcome shotgun blasts, unwanted mustaches, uncouth behavior, and the un-bare-able truth about going sockless in your cowboy boots. Behind the LinesRight to StrifeIn Republican-dominated Texas, the May 29 primary might as well have been the general election. And what it revealed is a party perfectly capable of doing battle with itself, no Democrats required. |
Reporter
Book ReviewStraight Outta BrownsvilleA brutal—and very funny—South Texas memoir by Domingo Martinez. State of the ArtGuernica Tapestry, San Antonio |
The Filter
Pat’s PickDriftwood |
Miscellany
Editor’s LetterDry, the Beloved Country |
Roar of the Crowd“Is there no end to TEXAS MONTHLY's fascination with Ted Nugent?” ContributorsEric O'Keefe, Michael O'Brien, KUT, and StateImpact Texas. |
Web Exclusives
The Drop Everything ListMeat Loaf, the Cow Pasture Golf Classic, ZZ Top, and Leslie Fest . . . Life by the Drop: A Special Report on Drought, Water, and the Future of TexasTEXAS MONTHLY partnered with StateImpact Texas and KUT News to take a close look at how the state can manage a growing population amid a shrinking water supply. Listen to reports from NPR’s John Burnett, Texas state photographer Wyman Meinzer, and more audio and online reports. The Drop Everything ListThe Kashmere Stage Band, Art From the Ashes, the Dead Sea Scrolls & the Bible, and a Rolling Roadshow on the banks of the Guadalupe . . . The Drop Everything ListThe Made in Texas exhibit, the Texas Rangers, Music Under the Stars, and the Conservative U.S. Pageant . . . |
For the Toadies, a Fresh StartSuccess has never come easy for the Toadies, but the Fort Worth–based rock band is back with its fifth studio album, Play. Rock. Music. The Drop Everything ListBob Gomel's photo collection, the Sixth Floor Museum, Iron & Wine's Sam Beam, and folk singer Daniel Johnston . . . The “Dublin Dr Pepper” Legacy Lives OnAfter a disappointing settlement with Dr Pepper Snapple Group, the family that owns Dublin Bottling Works, Inc. continues to thrive using the same ingredient that fans have enjoyed for years—pure cane sugar. |
Multimedia
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