TEXAS SCIENCE TEACHERS AND EARTH SCIENCE ISSUES IN THE BIG BEND REGION, TEXAS

The Texas State Board of Education de-emphasized earth science in the Texas High School Curriculum by all but eliminating assessment from the high school TAAS II Exit Test. The University of Texas at Dallas continues to educate Texas science teachers in earth science disciplines utilizing the Big Bend region as a topical natural classroom. Earth science-minded Texas teachers study several critical issues and take first-hand understanding to their classrooms. The topics list is broad and important to all residents of Texas. The United States Geological Survey is deeply concerned about the welfare of the Rio Grande River system especially as concerns increased pollution, flow loss, and the invasion of exotic species. The Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission is acutely troubled that the air in the Big Bend region is getting dirtier at an unmatched rate. The National Parks Conservation Association named Big Bend National Park to its top ten list of endangered parks. The El Paso Sustainable Water Project may inflict serious damage if downstream flow is further decreased. Several environmental groups consider humate mining in Big Bend to be a serious looming risk to the environment and to important vertebrate fossil beds. Then there was the near miss of the proposed Sierra Blanca Nuclear Waste Dump. Each of these critical issues is an earth science topic. All should be discussed by students in earth science classes in Texas schools. Good citizenship demands nothing less.