San Antonio’s Edwards Aquifer Protection Program: Review and Analysis

The City of San Antonio’s Edwards Aquifer Protection Program utilizes land and conservation easement acquisitions to protect the quality and quantity of Edwards Aquifer recharge. This review considers four key components of its viability: (1) establishing and sustaining public appreciation of the need for the policy, (2) choosing the appropriate policy mechanism to address the problem, (3) establishing clear justifications for prioritization of purchases that prevent mission drift, and (4) demonstrating the program’s impact and effectiveness. Overall, the analysis concludes that the program has been well adapted to the city’s need to protect the recharge and contributing zones beyond its regulatory jurisdiction. As such, it may serve as a significant model for other cities, particularly in Texas, where regulations may face legal and cultural resistance. The city has effectively educated the public on the value of this sales tax funded measure, even though some justification of its premises, such as inevitable development in western counties, remains subjective. A strong foundation is also evident, with a consistent focus on acquiring land that fits the original, narrow intent of the effort. An impediment to its continuation, however, may be the difficulty of presenting clear evidence of its success, a challenge for all policies designed to avert future harms to natural resources. Citation: Romero FS. San Antonio's Edwards Aquifer Protection Program: Review and Analysis. Texas Water Journal. 9(1):1-15. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v9i1.7063

Political polarization and negative campaign ads may have increased turnout in presidential elections

The 1964 election marked the beginning of a prolonged decline in presidential election turnout lasting through the 1990s. Recent analysis of American presidential election turnout from 1952 to 2020, however, reveals an increase previously expected by election scholars. In new research, Francine Romero and David Romero find that the downturn, while real, masked phenomena which were, in the background, pushing turnout upward. The phenomena, ironically, are those many see as harmful to American democracy: polarization, and, negative presidential campaign advertising