Water Shortage in Texas? Texas Land and Water: Big Plans with Commissioner Dr. Dawn Buckingham
What happens when surface rights clash with mineral rights? Could Texas lead the nation in rare earth mineral production? And how do you plan for a state’s needs 200 years ahead?
In this episode of The Crude Truth, host Rey Treviño III sits down with Dr. Dawn Buckingham, Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office, for a deep dive into the future of Texas.
Rey and Dawn discuss the Land Office’s critical role in state administration, the growing water crisis in West Texas, and the controversial proposal to repurpose produced water. The Land Commission has been a crucial part of the state of Texas since 1836. Not only protecting our great history, but also that many people do not understand that the Land Office is responsible for the Texas coastline and storm damage like Hurricane Harvey, and even the shipping channel to keep the energy exports moving. The structure of the Land Office is a huge benefit in that it owns the oil and gas instead of the federal government, as in other states. That revenue is used in Texas to enhance education and improve Texans’ lives.
One fun thing Dawn gets to do is claim islands in the Gulf of America from Cartels and make Texas bigger and safer. That directly aligns with her “just fix it now” mindset.
The water produced by oil and gas can either be treated, put back into the ground, or shipped off after being separated from the oil. Dr. Buckingham makes the vital point that water may become a commodity and even more valuable than oil. This is huge, and the positive work for Texas to protect water and the environment is critical for future Texans.
Another huge nugget is the critical or rare earth minerals, and her attitude of protecting Texas. We have large essential minerals of the state, and they are looking at how to get those to market. It is not the minerals; it is the processing. Over 90% of global processing for critical minerals is in China, and she was not relinquishing control to China. They have taken steps to move this forward and keep China at bay.
About Dr. Dawn Buckingham: Dawn is an American physician and politician who has served as the Land Commissioner of Texas since 2023. She was elected in November 2022 and sworn in on January 10, 2023. A member of the Republican Party, she served as a state Senator from 2017 to 2023
Don’t miss this eye-opening conversation about land, water, energy, and the bold vision shaping the future of Texas.
Thank you, Dr. Buckingham, for stopping by the Crude Truth podcast, and hope we can have a follow-up interview. It was fun, and what a job you are doing! – Rey.
Highlights of the Podcast
00:01 – Introduction & Texas Energy Legacy
03:00 – Overview of the General Land Office
06:00 – The Alamo Revitalization Project
08:15 – Coastal Spine Project with Army Corps of Engineers
10:20 – Produced Water & Future of Texas Water Supply
13:59 – Public-Private Partnerships & Water Innovation
17:00 – Aquifer Recharge & Long-Term Water Storage
20:00 – Federal Pushback & Oil and Gas Advocacy
22:00 – Rare Earth Minerals & Texas-China Strategy
24:55 – Reviving American Manufacturing & Economic Independence
28:00 – Carbon Sequestration & Texas Leadership
30:00 – Final Thoughts: Defending Texas Values
Please reach out to Dr. Dawn Buckingham on LinkedIn
Check out StatusJet HERE
We want to thank our sponsors of THE CRUDE TRUTH.
 
   
   
Water Shortage in Texas? Texas Land and Water: Big Plans with Commissioner Dr. Dawn Buckingham
Video Transcription edited for grammar. We disavow any errors unless they make us look better or smarter.
Rey Treviño III [00:00:00] Our natural resources make us one of the strongest economies in the world. We have the woman that said that on this episode of The Crude Truth.
Narrator [00:00:10] In 1901, at Spindletop Hill near Beaumont, the future of Texas changed dramatically as, like a fountain of fortune, thousands of barrels of oil burst from the earth towards the sky. Soon Detroit would be cranking out Model Ts by the millions and America was on the move thanks to the black gold being produced in Texas. Now more than a century later, the vehicles are different but nothing else has truly changed. Sure there may be many other alternative energy sources like wind and solar and electric. But let’s be honest, America depends on oil and entrepreneurs, and if the USA is truly going to be independent, it has to know The Crude Truth.
Narrator [00:00:53] This episode is brought to you by LFS Chemistry. We are committed to being good stewards of the environment. We are providing the tools so you can be too. Nape Expo, Where deals happen. Air Compressor Solutions. When everything is on the line, Air Compressed Solutions is the dependable choice to keep commercial business powered up. Sandstone Group, Exec Crue. Elevate your network, elevate your knowledge. Texas Star Alliance, Pecos Country Operating, Fueling our future.
Rey Treviño III [00:01:28] Well, hello again and thank you as always for tuning into another episode of The Crude Truth. As we continue into 2025, things are only heating up, not only here in Austin, where we’re shooting from today, but also across the great state of Texas and also across America, as drill baby drill has really gotten more prevalent and as the time of record, oil prices have began to come down a little bit, but yet everybody’s still sticking to their guns. Uh, the other thing that’s really, really getting more and more important here in the great state of Texas is water. If you’re out in West Texas, you know, that water is becoming more and more scarce, but yet they do have enough water to bring in a new Bass Pro shop there, but Hey, what do I know? Um, but also with that being said, been being serious, water is so important and today I’ve had the great opportunity to have on somebody that really knows what’s going on with not only the water, but also what’s goin on with oil and gas. Just, I’m tongue-tied, I am so excited. Our guest today is the Texas Land Commissioner, Dr. Dawn Buckingham. Doctor, how are you?
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:02:35] We are living the dream, we get to be on with you. Oh, be good.
Rey Treviño III [00:02:37] Oh, be quiet. No, ma’am. I am. I’m so excited about having you on. And you have been going. I told you when we got to meet that you have be on it for a year, you haven’t stopped. And you have made changes that feels like you’ve been there for more than a year. And I’ll even say it. I said, don’t tell George that that I said that. But really, you really have you been finding you have been all over the great state. And you have been doing so much. How are you?
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:03:04] We are just great. I love my job. You know, I’m a full steam ahead kind of girl. The surgeon part of my personality sees it, fix it, does it, and moves on to something else. So we’re just blowing and going all over the state, having a lot of fun and doing great things for Texas.
Rey Treviño III [00:03:17] Well, you know, you’ve been there now for a year and I like that. Say that again, see it, fix it, do it. What was that?
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:03:23] See it, fix it, move on to something else.
Rey Treviño III [00:03:25] I like that. And you know what, I think that’s really the way the oil and gas industry works as a whole. And that it’s like, hey, we see a problem, we got to fix a problem. I was talking to a friend last night on the phone. And she was talking to me and I go, no, I thinks she just wanted to vent. But the guy in me was like, okay, I got to figure this right. And so that’s what the oil gas is all about. It’s about fixing these problems, move on to the next thing and go from there. For everybody out there that doesn’t know what the land commission is or what they do. Can you just share with us what that is about?
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:03:54] I love doing that because no one knows what we do. So, you know, we’re the last remaining governmental entity of the Republic. And when we were founded, we were found as the keepers of maps, the guardians of Texas history, and the steward to our unknown state lands, which today is 13 million acres. Now, remember at that time, we’d been living under multiple flags. We had overlapping land grants, hence our mapping authority. We also run the oldest map archive in the state. So come by the Stephen F. Austin building, and we’ll show you all kinds of cool stuff. We also do everything coast, oil spill cleanup, habitat restoration, beach re-nourishment. We’re embarking on the largest infrastructure project that the Army Corps of Engineers has ever done in the coastal spine. It’s a resiliency project against hurricanes to protect our entire coast, starting in Louisiana and going to Mexico. We’re heading up the largest disaster recovery this country has ever seen in the Hurricane Harvey recovery. So we do all the big fires, floods, all those types of things with disaster recovery. We run veterans programs for the state. We have 10 nursing homes, five cemeteries, and a mortgage lending program. Texas is the only state with a mortgage-lending program. We also have this little thing called the Alamo. We have a $550 million project going there, and what we’re really doing there is for the first time since the battle, making the visit to the Alamos worthy of the significance of the events that happened there. We have so many exciting things going on.
Rey Treviño III [00:05:13] Oh my gosh, I so want to unpack the Army Corps of Engineers, Hurricane Harvey, and my favorite, the Alamo, because I literally was just there as we record this past weekend during Easter weekend. Yes, they’re doing huge things over there right now. You now have to get a ticket to get into, and I don’t know how long it’s been like that, but I guess that’s probably just, and I use quotations because it is still free to get in to the Alamos, and you get to go in. But there’s so much more now. I have a three-year-old, so I haven’t been before last year. I think last year I’ve been now four times in the last 12 months, and I bet I went four times in the past 30 years, you know, as a boy growing up. And it’s always fun. He loves it, but there is so much going on over there. Now y’all are keeping that monument that has everybody on it. Is that correct? Yeah, I know that was a big thing a few years ago.
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:06:06] A few years ago. It was, I was the one who threw down the legal challenge that kept it in place where it should be and then passed a bill to firm up the fact that it could never be moved. It’s wrapping up its restoration, should be done in the next couple months, but it’s going to be a glittering, shining, amazing cenotaph ready to stand for hundreds of more years.
Rey Treviño III [00:06:24] Yes. Okay. So it is. Okay, yeah. Because I saw them had scaffolding all along it. And I thought about making a call to ask like, hey, we’re not taking that down, are we? But I did not know that the GLO is a part of that. And then like, y’all closed the street off. And, I mean, 550 million is no stick to shake at. And you know, I’ve got like a whole artifact area now that’s over there. The collection center? Yes. And guess I would say like this, if you haven’t been to the Alamo in the last few years, it’s definitely worth the time. You know, because we as Texans almost take it for granted, but it is one of the main attractions in the state of Texas. Is that correct? It is.
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:06:59] It is one of the main attractions and that’s just going to go through the roof because let’s be honest before when our guests showed up to see the Shrine of Texas Liberty that they’ve heard about all around the world they saw that busy street they saw the wax museum to their right they looked at all the buildings that come very tall buildings that come very close to Alamo and they kind of say well was that it and then they spent about seven minutes but now it’s going to happen we’ve expanded the footprint to include most of what was the fort we’re building the 160,000 square foot museum across where that wax museum used to be. In the middle of that will be a 40 theater. When you sit in your chair behind a defender and you feel those cannonballs hit because your seat shakes and you smell that gunpowder and that smoke, you’re gonna immerse in the battle like no other way. We also have a children’s education center going up with dedicated curriculum for early childhood all the way through high school. So we have so many things happening. It’s worth coming down. It’s worthwhile coming back.
Rey Treviño III [00:07:50] Oh my gosh, I’ll say one more thing. I remember I did Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts, and we did the, there used to be something called the Texas Badge. And so I remember having to go there when I was a little kid, you were talking about childhood and all, and I think one of the grades, that’s all it was, was Texas history. But anyway, I didn’t know that, so I’ll get off of that, but let’s talk about the Army Corps of Engineers and what exactly, so the spinal cord of the Gulf of America is from Louisiana to Mexico.
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:08:17] Yep, all of our coasts from Louisiana to Mexico. We’re starting on the Louisiana side. Most of it is a series of things we do every day, dunes, levees, just natural resiliency barriers to these big storms, but then come in the big storm gates. So one of the things we’re looking back, some people call it the Ike Dyke, but it’s basically a big gate that we can close. So if you have a storm that comes in that has a massive storm surge, it can’t run right up the Houston Ship Channel and negatively impact all the refining process that happens there.
Rey Treviño III [00:08:45] Yes, you know, I’ve seen something like this, if I’m correct, in Japan, that they have some kind of giant or they’re doing something where it’s like a giant wall out in the middle of nowhere, but yet it’s a breaker, and it really helps. I guess that’s what this wall would do as well.
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:09:00] Very similar, you know, the wall moves, of course, it goes up and down so it doesn’t impact navigation. Of course they have them in London, they have him in Venice, they have them all over the world. Texas actually has two smaller gates and different parts up and down the coast, but we’re looking at that engineering because the gate in front of the Houston Ship Channel has to be pretty special.
Rey Treviño III [00:09:18] Well, it has to also be not only special, but it’s very important because again, with the, you mentioned it, the, the port of Houston comes so far in inland. And, um, and again, you talk about Ike and all these hurricanes that have come through, um you also mentioned Harvey, thank goodness that it actually hit, unfortunately, I love Rockport. I love, I loved that area of Texas, but had that actually hit anywhere else, it would have actually even been more catastrophic. Is that correct?
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:09:44] Sure, a category five storm straight up the ship channel would decimate right now the petrochemical industrial complex, not just for Texas, but the entire world, because most of it’s actually produced right here in Texas, depending on what you’re talking about.
Rey Treviño III [00:09:58] You know, when you when you I can’t believe that here we are talking about the, you know, the land commission office and we’ve already talked about the Alamo, the Gulf of Mexico. And now, I mean, it’s like, what are you all not involved in? I didn’t know that y’all the last remaining actual entity from that 10 year span that we were actually part of our own country. Yeah, we predate.
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:10:19] Yep. We predate the governor by about nine years. Governor Abbott loves him when I remind him. Do you oppose?
Rey Treviño III [00:10:23] Do you? I was about to ask you if you do that, you let him know like, you know, my position is over.
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:10:26] And we got to make Texas bigger for the first time in a couple hundred years. So we’ve been declaring islands in the Rio Grande, Texas, taking them away from the cartels as their safe havens for smuggling. So that’s been pretty fun, too.
Rey Treviño III [00:10:38] I love it. You are on it. Something else I want to touch on is produced water. In my teaser we talked about natural resources. You guys are in charge of all the royalties or the minerals underneath the ground for the great state of Texas for any that we have like for the university division and things. Is that correct?
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:11:00] I chair the board for lease for the permanent university minerals. And then of course the minerals under my office are different there for the K through 12 education, not higher education. Right. Subtle difference.
Rey Treviño III [00:11:11] There is a subtle difference there. And so with those K through 12, it’s, you know, what is exactly that you guys are doing, like what do y’all do with all that?
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:11:18] We’re tasked with generating revenue from the state lands of Texas to support the Permanent School Fund, which today I believe is a $58 billion fund. It’s the oldest, largest sovereign wealth fund for education in the country. And that was built off of our state lands. And that’s back to the brilliance of our founding fathers that say, hey, let’s keep our unowned land. Unlike most of the Western states that ceded their unowned land to the federal government, it’s how you get states that are majority federal land and how it’s negatively impacted their ability. To be economic powerhouses. But there is no doubt that our state land, our state minerals, and the oil and gas revenues are absolutely what sets Texas apart.
Rey Treviño III [00:11:56] Oh, absolutely. We were talking about that in our little pre-production meeting about what was the surplus this year and just how many billions actually came from that deal right there. And it helps us out so much. And who would have ever thought that 200 years ago that this would be such a benefit to the great state of Texas?
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:12:17] No, you’re exactly right. And so it’s also our job to look 200 years ahead and say what can be best for the benefit of Texas and how can we better generate revenue. And part of that carbon sequestration, but part of it is produced water. I mean, let’s turn West Texas into a garden oasis. Let’s refill our aquifers. Let’s repopulate our streams. There’s so many options with the millions of barrels a day of water that’s produced with oil and gas.
Rey Treviño III [00:12:40] Well, you know, let’s talk about West Texas and what’s going on out there. First of all, I was joking, but not really joking in the opening when I said they’ve got a giant Bass Pro Shop coming in. And you know the ones up here are up in North Texas, they got these giant little aquariums, they got water they got to have. And yet they’re starting to have not yet, but water will become scarce in West Texas if something’s not done, is that correct? I think we can all agree.
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:13:07] I think we can all agree water is scarce in West Texas. Water that you can use. Yes. Is. And the way that our population is outpacing our water production or usable water production is scary. When you look decades into the future, it doesn’t take very long for us to get upside down on that. So bringing solutions with produced water, getting it to agricultural levels for the same prices, injection, maybe even mining some of the lithium or who knows what else is in that water. Besides just the hydrocarbon in your regular salts, their possibilities are endless.
Rey Treviño III [00:13:39] Well, you know, when you talk about possibilities, is there a way that we can actually focus on it that it’s like, okay, it’s almost gonna have to be a joint effort. It’s not gonna be a private, it’s not going to be public. It’s almost going to private, public and government to come in and do this. Would that be a fair way to say to actually get the problem solved?
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:13:59] It is, and that’s exactly what the Produced Water Consortium is, of which we are a proud part of that. So we have, you know, academic institutions, we have private industry, we have the state of Texas all coming together. I think that we, I think we’re pretty close, actually. So, we’re doing test crops out on state land here pretty quick with EOG. We’re really bringing solutions. I’ve heard estimates they think it’ll be 10 years. I think it will be faster than that. I think it would be a few years and we’ll see a revolution in how we deal with produced water. And something you mentioned early, the monetization of that, that becoming a viable product to sell, for example, will also be a game changer in the water laws in the state.
Rey Treviño III [00:14:39] I mean, could you imagine if we actually did something, my first initial reaction this morning when I was thinking about a few things was commodity. Okay, oil is a commodity, natural gas is a commodities. I’m trying to wrap my head around making water a commodity. As an individual, I’m like, no, man, the water’s free. As a capitalist, I’ve like, if I own my minerals, now I’m like, should I start charging these people for the water that’s coming up out of the ground? But I don’t know if I should take that out or not, but I mean, I’m beginning to think about this because if we produce this water, and for those out there that don’t what produced oil water is basically when you drill a oil well and the water comes up out of the groundwater that is what’s called produced water and it comes with the oil. However, we do separate the oil and water and that’s how we sell our oil is we send the oil downstream to the refineries. So I’m on the upstream side and the midstream sends it to the refineries. And so we basically, that’s what we’re doing. We’re separating this produced water from the oil for those out there that don’t know that. But we’re already, we only have three options. We can put it back in the ground, we can treat it or we can recycle it. And those are the only three things that we can do. So getting back to the monetization of it. If there’s actually something there, I think that’s a big game changer. And I wonder if that would even bring up the price of oil.
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:16:07] You never know, I do think there’ll be a time where water is a more valuable resource than even gas or oil as things get really tight. So looking into that future, it’s gonna be crazy. Australia has already done a lot on the monetization of water. The real fights will begin because right now, the oil and gas is the mineral owners and the water is the surface owners, which as you know can be two different people. And then when the water comes up and it’s dirty, then it’s the producer’s problem. But then all of a sudden when it’s clean and we’re something, that landowner’s probably gonna want a piece of that. And so those fights are gonna get pretty heavy, I think.
Rey Treviño III [00:16:39] Yes, no, and that was something I would have asked because it’s real interesting how the water that comes out of the ground is the landowners and yet everything else that comes out of ground is a mineral owners. You talk about this test deal that’s going on with crops with the EOG. So basically they are taking this water, treating it, and then using it for agriculture, like to water the crops. Is that correct?
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:17:04] Yes, that’s exactly right. We’ve been test growing some crops in a greenhouse, and so we were ready to extrapolate that out over a bigger piece of property, and there was some resistance to that property, you know, people not wanting it on their property, but I said we’re happy to be part of that solution. Come grow your test crops on ours.
Rey Treviño III [00:17:24] Um, now with that being said, it’s like, these are actually, I guess, consumable crops, are these like the cotton crops that y’all are testing on?
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:17:35] I think mostly what we’re testing right now is alfalfa, so browse for cattle. Okay. And then, you know, as we get farther and farther down with the right requirements, we can be able to start putting it in rivers. When it meets all those requirements, then you look at our water needs and how Mexico doesn’t give us the water it’s supposed to give us. So there are a small number of tributaries where Texas keeps all of the water that goes into those tributary. So when we start really putting it there, it’ll be a game changer for Texas and for agriculture and even places as far as the Valley. Where we see the farms closing because of lack of water, all these problems, we hope to revive that area and bring it back.
Rey Treviño III [00:18:11] With that being said, do you think there’s a possibility of us being able to take this water and maybe put it back into things like the Pecos River or Big Lake out in West Texas? Do you think those are things that are possible?
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:18:24] I think so. I hope one day we’re recharging the Oglala aquifer with it, you know, into aquifer storage and retrieval. At some point we’re going to realize that the surface isn’t necessarily the best place to store all of our water because we get so much evaporation during the summer and everything else. So tucking it underground in a safe way is probably going to be the practice of choice in a few years.
Rey Treviño III [00:18:45] And when you use the Ogallala aquifer, then even though it may be produced and may be treated, but then it still has to go through the good old fashioned natural way of osmosis, I would assume, to then come back out. I mean, is that kind of some of the thinking in that?
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:19:03] Well, you know, I was lucky when I was in the Senate. I had been dared at Temple to Abilene, but Kerr County actually does a lot of intra aquifer storage and retrieval. So I got to kind of see it there. There’s several ways to do it. Sometimes it’s a direct recharge. Sometimes it a filtered recharge like you’re talking about. But if you get the water to the certain specifications, then it opens up your options.
Rey Treviño III [00:19:24] You know, you came out with a statement just, I think about a week or two ago that was like, you are really trying to do whatever you can do to help get this problem fixed in the best way and really like in the most efficient and practical way. But as soon as possible, is that a great way to kind of summarize that statement? Yeah.
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:19:41] Yeah, I mean what I say every day is the general land office touches your life in so many ways you didn’t even know that we existed. And so what we do is we just exist to serve the people we’re supposed to serve. When we unapologetically, we have our rails, we see a problem that needs fixing, we go full steam ahead at it till we get it fixed and then we go fix something else.
Rey Treviño III [00:19:57] Oh my gosh, you are on it. And speaking of helping the people out, you’ve also been fighting, again, you’ve been there for years, so that means you were also there during the end of the Biden administration.
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:20:13] The subpoenas have slowed down from the federal agencies since Trump took office. It was very clear on the weaponization of government under the Biden administration because we were standing up and unapologetically defending oil and gas. So we’re the plaintiff and all the endangered species lawsuits. We had special leases that got around what they were trying to do with, whether it’s the dune sage brussels, or the prairie chicken, or you pick it, the water mussels, we were. You know, and I love Ken Paxton. He gets the credit for filing the lawsuit, but you need a plaintiff with standing. And so we can stand there and swing a big stick that your average mineral owner can’t swing. So we stand and we swing a bit stick every way we can.
Rey Treviño III [00:20:50] Yeah, so you’ve been doing so much on the overreach. I mean, it has just been ridiculous. I mean I love the way you grinned there almost like, yeah, what else you got? Bring it on. And that’s the way that you are. Like, if I may, I always talk to everybody and say, hey, here’s what I’d like to ask you. And all my guests, they know that. And you’re just like, okay, all right. What do you wanna talk about? That’s how we roll. Yes ma’am, I mean that is exactly how you roll. So you’ve definitely brought an attitude. A positive one to the general land office. Working with President Trump, obviously there’s day and night differences, right? You said it yourself, the subpoenas have almost stopped. What are you excited about working with this administration from a Texas level to a federal level to those joint projects? Well, we are.
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:21:37] Well, we are so excited with the change in the administration. It makes everything as far as securing our grid, getting all these things more stable and a positive path. You know, we’re dealing with real science now, not fake science. Right. You know the Democrats, I hate those signs that they have like science is real. I’m like, yes, we know, but you don’t follow science. So we can talk forever about rare earth minerals and everything else, which we also are going to be. A part of the solution with the rare earth minerals and what’s happening with China, because Texas has one of the complete set of rare earths minerals not under China’s control. So we’re bringing solutions across the front. And of course it’s on state land. Of course the minerals are ours. But so we’re in process on that too.
Rey Treviño III [00:22:21] I didn’t know that we had that much here in Texas, and that we’re able to combat China with that.
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:22:30] The complication right now is the processing. The processing of those rare earth minerals creates a superfund site. When I first took office, wouldn’t let them take any of the ore off of our American soil. So I’m like, if you’re gonna dig it, you can dig it here, but you’re going to have to figure out how to process this here, because I’m not putting any of our fate in the hands of China. And so I think they’re working on that. I think we’re getting a lot closer, but that’s kind of the sticking point, but we have a big deposit. In fact, We purchased a large piece of property. Ironically, China was looking like they were trying to buy it. It’s a very large piece of property out in West Texas, but we just finished our rare earth mineral survey and we have a bunch there too. So we’re going on full steam.
Rey Treviño III [00:23:10] So I can’t believe, you know, we kind of talked about China real briefly before and you have been doing things to combat them from doing, from purchasing land. And that’s awesome because again, like you said, why are we giving that to other people? And we’ve already done so much as a country and I’m kind of getting way off topic here as I ask this question as I’m looking. We’re so dependent on China. You know, we got so many things that go there to get processed to get built and then they come right back And I’m excited to hear that you’re like saying hey, no, no. No, you got a process is that here? Because a lot of that unfortunately is also with the refineries and in our world and oil and gas is We’ve got the best oil in the world. We’ve that sweet Texas crew might even have a little green hue And yet our refineries can maybe do 25% across the United States, while the other 75% is all that true crude oil that comes from places like Venezuela or Iran, who are not our friends, but then also from our other OPEC countries. So for us to get that energy security, we really got to be working on that as well. Is that correct? I’ll try to get some more of that.
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:24:25] No, you’re absolutely right. I think if we learn nothing during COVID, we learned that we should be manufacturing here. We should not have our pharmaceuticals, so many of our products created and made offshore. So I like the fact that I know the tariffs are tough and there’s a lot of consternation right in the back, but I do think it’s gonna drive the manufacturing back onto domestic soil and I think we desperately need it. And I think, we all ought to be looking for ways to support manufacturing and get it back home.
Rey Treviño III [00:24:55] Well, you talk about the manufacturing here in America and there was a time that you built something and it lasted. And again, I may be now, now we may just be talking, just chopping it up, but we don’t have that anymore in America. They don’t make things like, it’s terrible to say, because my dad was saying this 20 years ago and now I’m saying it’s like, they don’t made things like they used to, but also it’s not made here anymore. And it’s what can we do to make things last? Quality reasons, but also for pride reasons. Craftsman tools are still, they say they’re all made in American, so I don’t do the research, so I’m just gonna say that they are. And if it breaks, they give you another one for free. That’s awesome, right? That shows them showing pride in the quality of their work. And that I think not only represents every American, but every Texas. That we take pride in our work and we want it to be quality. So to actually get those manufacturing jobs back here, I think really resets the playing field. And I had on a Dr. Ed Ireland a couple of weeks ago and he said it himself, he goes, the United States economy is still the number one economy in the world. And even China still depends on our economy to do anything they’re doing. And yet they are our biggest trade adversary. And like it or not, you mentioned the tariffs, excuse me, we’re in a trade war with them right now. It is what it is and it had to happen at some point. I feel like President Trump has just ripped the Band-Aid off.
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:26:26] Yeah, I think we’ve been at war with China for decades and they knew it, but we didn’t. You know, there’s all these books, the 100-year marathon, their plan on being the number one global power and how they’re going to get that succession. And it detailed out everything they’ve done up to this point at the very end is military conflict. But destabilizing people economically, taking away their ability to manufacture, debasing them from who they are, is all just part of their plan. It’s been in print for decades.
Rey Treviño III [00:26:55] Are you running for office again here real soon? I’m planning on running for re-election in 26. I think we’ve got somebody that’s going to be doing that. I feel like a senator or something else coming up here with what you’ve got. You talk about 200 year plan for Texas. I almost want to know what the plan is, but that’s for another day. What is something that’s exciting for you? We’re in the state legislation session right now. You’re keeping a keen eye on everything what’s something that’s exciting that that you’re hoping gets through That’s only going to help out and benefit Texas more
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:27:29] You know, they’ve got so many things going on at the legislature. We’re just excited about about the leadership in Texas. We’re excited about the business friendly environment. You know I’m a small government girl. It’s my general opinion. Government doesn’t do much well, so it should probably get back to its basic precepts and let the free market do everything else. And I’m hoping that the policies past this session drive Texas that way.
Rey Treviño III [00:27:50] I mean, I’m excited, I know he’s got several things on the methane, carbon credits that are all coming up.
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:27:58] Yeah, we’re leading the world in carbon sequestration actually and have a 1.2 million acres that we have done at poor space lease. We’re looking into soil carbon. We are doing all kinds of stuff, but we’re setting the pace around the world for that as well.
Rey Treviño III [00:28:11] Yes, and you say you set the pace. I’ve said that on this show before and I’ll say it again, we lead, Texas leads, America follows and the world follows. I’ve had on a couple of the railroad commissioners and it’s like other countries come here to see what Texas is doing. Not New Mexico, not New York state, not California state, they come to Texas to see, what are y’all doing and how are yall doing it right so that we can take this back and implement it.
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:28:40] There’s a reason was the lone star on our flag. We’re leading the leading, not just the country, but the entire world, a single Texas.
Rey Treviño III [00:28:48] Yes, ma’am. I wanna ask you this, as we wrap up, what is something else that you want everyone out there to know that’s going on and why, you know, Dr. Commissioner Dawn Buckingham Is the right person to move forward for the next 30 years in the GLO? You know.
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:29:04] You know, I love my job. I think what I want all of Texas to know is that I love every square inch of Texas. This office is the tip of the spear, not just defending our history, oil, and gas, and our border, but so many other things. I am morally driven and we’re going to get the job done. God bless Texas.
Rey Treviño III [00:29:22] I love it. Well, doctor, I cannot thank you enough for the time today. You are just again on it and you’re truly just changing everything up in a positive way and really not even changing it. You’re just sticking up for what’s already been written and what’s already been said. Again, you were the spear, not just the tip during the Biden administration fighting for the oil and gas families out there because that’s what it and also for the great state of Texas because. I think the Democrats know that if they can take Texas, then they’ve got everything else gravy. For decades. For decades, and you are fighting that great fight for us, so I cannot thank you enough.
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:30:03] Which also includes reaching across the aisle and educating everybody about what our core Texas values are and how sometimes that national Democrat party runs against that significantly.
Rey Treviño III [00:30:13] They do, and you know, one time Ted Cruz said it right, that if they could flip a switch to kill the oil and gas industry, some of them would. And they’d pop up champagne bottle. And then he goes to say, he goes, and he goes it’s truly only because they don’t know and they’re not educated. And he goes that’s the scariest thing.
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:30:31] When the power bills go through the roof and people can’t afford to air condition and heat their homes or buy groceries or anything else because they flipped that switch for oil and gas, then that becomes a real problem for the Democrats.
Rey Treviño III [00:30:41] Yes, ma’am. And then, you know, we also talk about electricity. we’re not hearing any issues with ERCOT this year or last year. It’s amazing. And it’s a good thing. That’s a very good thing when there’s no issues because we are providing the land because you talked about the grid and the infrastructure and God knows we do need to update it but we also got to add more to it. And hopefully there’ll be more natural gas added when we’d actually do that infrastructure.
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:31:05] We definitely need dispatchable energy.
Rey Treviño III [00:31:07] Yes, ma’am. Oh my gosh, we can go on forever. Oh, Dr. I cannot thank you enough. I definitely want to have you come back on. And we can talk about anything you want to talk about.
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:31:19] Oh, that’ll be fun. That’s what I’m saying. It would be. Be careful. You don’t know what you’re getting into there.
Rey Treviño III [00:31:25] But again, you know, you’ve got your great platform right now. Again, the overreach and produced water is as heavy on that platform. And you have really stuck to your guns on that. And I can’t thank you enough for fighting, fighting for us and for West Texas, because we need all that water. We need to have that water for people, not for drilling, not for agriculture, not for data centers, which we do need data centers and we do the agriculture. But we need life and that’s what water is and right to the people. So I cannot thank you enough.
Dr. Dawn Buckingham [00:31:57] My pleasure. Thanks for having me on.
Rey Treviño III [00:31:58] Thank you so much. And to all our viewers out there, that’s the General Land Office, Dr. Commissioner Dawn Buckingham. And thank you as always. And if you got any questions, let me know. And we’ll see you again on another episode of The Crude Truth.
Narrator [00:32:13] Again, The Crude Truth would like to thank today’s sponsors. LFS Chemistry, Nape Expo, Air Compressor Solutions, Sandstone Group, Exec Crue, Texas Star Alliance, Pecos Country Operating, and Real News Communication Network
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The Crude Truth with Rey Trevino
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