Chris Royal

My first thought is that we have State Agencies that work closely with our top universities like UT and Texas A&M. From what I’ve read, the female screwworm mates only once and then dies. The best attack is to produce sterile male screwworms and introduce them to the female population. When the males and females mate, the reproduction cycle is destroyed and there are no new screwworms born. The entities best suited to create these sterile male screwworms are the state agencies and university labs that are setup to create the required sterile male screwworms. I know the state and universities have done similar things in the past and I’m sure they’re working on it right now.

Keywords: State Universities and state agencies combine forces to create sterile male screwworms to halt the reproduction cycle of the screwworms.

In February of 2021, 246 deaths were attributed to the severe sub-freezing winter storm (Winter Storm Uri) and subsequent power crisis. However, independent data analyses and statistical studies estimate the true death toll was significantly higher, ranging upwards of 700 or more due to uncounted indirect medical and hypothermia complications. The leading causes of death were hypothermia and frostbite (65%). Other causes were exacerbation of chronic illnesses like disruptions to essential medical care, such as home oxygen or dialysis machines failing during power blackouts. Also, carbon monoxide poisoning resulting from unsafe attempts to heat homes using vehicles in garages, generators, or grills indoors. Vehicle accidents, fires, and falls that were caused by treacherous icy roads and alternative heating methods. In other words, Texans suffered greatly in 2021 because our power grid fell woefully short. The question is if we become the leading data center in the country and it uses up twice as much energy as is being used now, how do we know our citizens in the next big winter storm will be protected if these data centers gobble up our energy? The energy policy that I would support would first take care of the citizens of Texas in a severe winter storm. The data centers should come second.

Keywords: 246 deaths in winter storm of 2021. Texas citizens first, data centers’ energy demands second.

Threatened water quality for communities across our state. Let’s take a look at how Lake Michigan was cleared up back in 1972. Lake Michigan was so polluted that you couldn’t even fish in it, yet today, you can. What did they do? They enacted the 1972 Clean Water Act and the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the U.S. and Canada. Governments and groups upgraded sewage plants, banned harsh chemicals like DDT, limited phosphorus in fertilizers, and cleaned up industrial toxic waste sites. I think we could use this as a good starting point to clean up our Texas waterways. It’s amazing how the environment will clean up itself when the major pollutants are removed. With regard to individual usage, a page might be taken out of what some countries in South America have done. Individuals have machines like small refrigerators that de-humidify the air in their homes and apartments. I believe they use this as drinking and washing water. In countries like Chile and Peru, they desalinate water mainly using reverse osmosis (RO). High-pressure pumps push seawater through special filters to trap salt. This clean water supplies mining sites, coastal cities, and dry regions. I just recently purchased a dehumidifier myself. This dehumidifier pulls around 4 to 5 gallons out of the air per day which I pour around my garden plants and along my foundation. I’ve been trying to figure out how to clean and store these 4/5 gallons per day. I’ve got some ideas. When I was in the Army we were given a steel pot (helmet) amount of water to bathe with each day. Believe it or not, you can bathe with a small amount of water if need be. With respect to aquifers, we are north of the Gulf of America (Mexico.) Countries in the Middle East like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar produce a huge share of their drinking water by removing salt from ocean water using reverse osmosis and thermal distillation. I think some creative use of the water in the Gulf could be pumped up to the communities and the aquifers in Texas. Obviously, this will not be cheap, but now might be the time to get started and get our best brains thinking about this issue. Currently, Texas uses replace and manage Aquifer Water Storage and Recovery (ASR). Systems pump excess surface water (like river water or treated drinking water) underground during wet times. It stays stored safely out of the sun and is pumped back up during dry summer months or severe droughts. Also, local groups and counties form groundwater conservation districts to set rules on how much water big users and well owners can pump out. And finally, the Texas Water Development Board tracks water supplies and designs long-term strategies to fund massive water infrastructure projects across the state.

As for overarching policies, I think individuals and communities could look into using dehumidifiers as a start in creating off-grid water supplies. As for the agricultural economy, they should be at the head of the line when it comes to using aquifer resources.

Keywords: Desalination, Reverse osmosis, Gulf ASR Aquifer, Water Storage and Recovery, Texas Water Development Board

Depending upon where you look, death from the freezing temperatures in Feb of 2021 varied from 246 to a high of 700. The ads in the media have been telling us that data centers will add jobs to the Texas economy. What they fail to mention is that these data centers will eat up half of the energy when they come into operation. Well, my question is that if we had problems in 2021 with the delivery of energy that killed from 246 to 700 people, what will the death toll be when half of the energy in sucked up by the data centers in the next bad winter? At the peak of the 2021 storm, peak electricity demand on the ERCOT grid reached roughly 77,000 MW, with a severe shortage of generation as plants froze. Texas has added over 40,000 MW since the 2021 storm. But this looks like this will be used up by the data centers. So if the grid was putting out 77,000 MW and we had over 700 people die, it sounds like we need to create upwards of another 77,000 MW to make up for the data center usage. But we’ve added ONLY 40,000 MW. The ads on TV paint a rosy picture of jobs, jobs and more jobs. But it doesn’t sound like it’s adding up to me. We should make sure that citizens are protected first, and data centers second. If business needs these data centers they can come up with a good solution so that they don’t run out of energy during a bad Texas winter. The burden should be on the businesses that want these data centers, not the Texas government or the surrounding communities. And if the investment is worth it, the data center companies will make it work. That’s what companies and investors are all about. Perhaps they should create a second grid that is separate from and dedicated only to the data centers. The companies and investors can come up with the funds necessary to protect their precious investment. The government should protect it’s most precious commodity, namely, the people living in their communities. Trust me, if there is money to be made with data centers in Texas, the investors will make it work. But let’s take care of the people first.

Keywords: Data centers, Shortage of electricity, Production, People first, data centers second

The following policies would protect the long-term stability of Texas’s research infrastructure. First, we need to increase funding for state programs like the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board initiatives to provide steady revenue for emerging research universities and the National Research University Fund (NRUF). Second, create state matching grant programs that encourage private-sector partnerships and match federal research awards won by Texas institutions. Third, allocate dedicated state bonds or budget surpluses to modernize high-performance computing centers and aging campus labs, and specialized equipment. Fourth, maintain predictable, multi-year funding increases for major federal science agencies like the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. And finally, fully fund institutional overhead and indirect cost recovery rates for universities to ensure safe and compliant lab operations.

To do solid research requires top-notch academics backed up with state-of-the-art facilities which will attract the most qualified students from here and abroad. To do this requires funds. So we look to private companies like drug companies to help out. To attract top-notch academics requires good salaries. These, added to outlays by the Federal Government, will insure that Texas will be at the leading edge of future research discoveries and will be a main driver in the future of medical drug discoveries and scientific innovation.

Keywords: Solid research, State-of-the-art facilities attract scientific innovation, Top-notch academics

I grew up when polio was supposedly wiped out all over the world. The scientists went all over the world and vaccinated all of the children and achieved what they believed to be a complete destruction of the virus. Unfortunately, there have been pockets around the globe where polio is still a concern. Why? Because the science in this area is not perfect. There is a thing called herd immunity. To achieve herd immunity against poliovirus, a community must maintain a vaccination coverage rate of at least 80% to 85%. But in a densely populated or poor hygiene area, the percentage might need to be as high as 97%. So, at least in the US, we’ve taken it for granted that vaccinations for polio were adequate only to find out that maybe we’ve fallen short and that this applies to measles, also. So we’re finding out about “herd immunity” and how it’s is possible to have a measles outbreak even given our excellent standard of care in our country. So what’s the lesson? Yes, we have an excellent immunization system, but if not carefully monitored we can still have problems. My approach would be to simply inform the parents of communities what are the dangers of outbreaks and vaccine safety and encourage parents to talk with their pediatricians on what is the best course of action for their children (This what my wife and I did for our two children when they were younger.) Doctors are in communication with local health officials who are in turn in communication with the CDC. The CDC should have an idea as to where the local community stands and with this knowledge local doctors should have a good idea what parents should do to protect their children.

Keywords: Children, Pediatrician, Herd immunity, Vaccination, Coverage rate, CDC

Hopefully the individuals who are making policymaking decisions when it involves some type of scientific claim have some understanding of science. I took Anatomy and Physiology courses with the possibility of working in the Medical Field. It consisted of 30 hours in two summer sessions. I had straight A’s for those 30 hours and made the President’s List at UTRGV. I am also certified to teach all science subjects up to grade 12. So I think I have a good background in science. So when it comes to making scientific claims I think I’ll have a better than average understanding of those claims. So when scientific consensus and public opinion diverge (note the question says scientific consensus as if there will be an agreement amongst the scientists and public opinion as if the general public will have an opposite opinion) this shows bias in the question. But normally questions of high importance will go to a committee to evaluate the issue at hand. Then the committee will report its findings with input from the public. At the end of which a final decision will be made. And then it goes to the legislative body for a final vote. If it passes, it becomes law. Then if the public has a problem with the law it will make it’s way to the courts. Not a perfect system, but that’s what makes us a country which is the envy of all the others.

Keywords: Scientific claims, Public opinion, Consensus law, courts