Michael C. Slattery, director of the Institute for Environmental Studies and director
of research at the Ralph Lowe Energy Institute at Texas Christian University, penned
an op-ed in The Dallas Morning News analyzing the devastating Kerr County floods over the Fourth of July weekend. He
worked to help answer the profound question, “How could these floods happen?”
In the piece, Slattery urges readers to resist simplifying or politicizing the tragedy,
emphasizing the complexity of contributing factors, from weather patterns and geography
to infrastructure and climate change. 
“What happened in Kerr County was not a failure of forecasting ... it was a lethal
confluence of physical geography, atmospheric dynamics, communication infrastructure
and human vulnerability,” he wrote.
In the opinion article, “Kerrville Floods Were a Perfect Storm of Contributing Factors,”
Slattery also highlighted that while no single event can be solely attributed to climate
change, ignoring its influence leaves communities more vulnerable in the future.
Read the full op-ed in The Dallas Morning News