Lubbock, Texas

==Economy==
[[File:Lubbock Texas Cone Grain Elevator 2010.jpg|thumb|Cone grain elevator, north side of Lubbock]]The Lubbock area is the largest contiguous cotton-growing region in the world and is heavily dependent on federal government agricultural subsidies and on [[irrigation]] water drawn from the [[Ogallala Aquifer]]. The aquifer is being depleted at a rate [[Sustainable agriculture|unsustainable]] over the long term. Some progress has been made toward [[water conservation]], and new technologies such as low-energy precision application irrigation were originally developed in the Lubbock area. A new pipeline from [[Lake Alan Henry]] is expected to supply up to {{convert|3.2|e9USgal|m3 GL}} of water per year.<ref>{{cite web |author=Eric Finley |url=http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/100908/bus_341959564.shtml |title=Battle on for water until Alan Henry pipeline done &#124; Lubbock Online &#124; Lubbock Avalanche-Journal |publisher=Lubbock Online |date=2008-10-09 |access-date=2015-07-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150708142948/http://lubbockonline.com/stories/100908/bus_341959564.shtml |archive-date=July 8, 2015 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

The 10 largest employers in terms of the number of employees are [[Texas Tech University]], [[Covenant Health System]], [[Lubbock Independent School District]], [[University Medical Center (Lubbock, Texas)|University Medical Center]], [[United Supermarkets]], City of Lubbock, [[Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center]], [[AT&T Mobility|AT&T]], and [[Lubbock County, Texas|Lubbock County]]. A study conducted by a professor at the [[Rawls College of Business]] determined Texas Tech students, faculty, and staff contribute about $1.5 billion to the economy, with about $297.5 million from student shopping alone.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://media.www.dailytoreador.com/media/storage/paper870/news/2008/08/26/News/Students.Return.Boosts.Universitys.BillionDollar.Impact.In.Lubbock-3403983.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828230410/http://media.www.dailytoreador.com/media/storage/paper870/news/2008/08/26/News/Students.Return.Boosts.Universitys.BillionDollar.Impact.In.Lubbock-3403983.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 28, 2008 |title=Students' return boosts university's billion-dollar impact in Lubbock |access-date=2008-08-25 |work=[[The Daily Toreador]] |last=Graham |first=Mike}}</ref>

[[File:Lubbock County South Plains Fair 2012.jpg|thumb|right|[[South Plains Fairgrounds|Panhandle-South Plains Fairgrounds]]]]

===Environmental issues===
The Scrub-A-Dubb Barrel Company, in the north of the city, had been the cause of public complaints, and committed numerous environmental violations, since the 1970s.<ref name=kcbd1>{{cite news |last=Little |first=Ann Wyatt |title=City removes Scrub-A-Dubb land from proposed zoning change |url=http://www.kcbd.com/story/10514033/city-removes-scrub-a-dubb-land-from-proposed-zoning-change |access-date=2011-09-02 |newspaper=[[KCBD|KCBD News]] |date=June 12, 2009 |archive-date=March 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318064200/http://www.kcbd.com/story/10514033/city-removes-scrub-a-dubb-land-from-proposed-zoning-change |url-status=live }}</ref> Local [[KCBD]] News undertook several investigations into the barrel recycling company's waste-handling practices, and when the business closed in 2011, the [[Environmental Protection Agency]] was called in to begin cleaning up the site, which they described as "a threat to public health, welfare, and the environment".<ref name=wire>{{cite news |title=EPA takes charge of hazardous waste site in North Lubbock |url=http://www.localwireless.com/wap/news/text.jsp?carrier=google&sid=122&nid=61353184&cid=162&scid=-1&title=Local+News&ith=0 |access-date=2011-09-02 |newspaper=Lubbock Local News |date=August 30, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331144500/http://www.localwireless.com/wap/news/text.jsp?carrier=google&sid=122&nid=61353184&cid=162&scid=-1&title=Local+News&ith=0 |archive-date=March 31, 2012 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Greg Fife, the EPA's on-site coordinator, said: "Out of the 60,000 [barrels] we have on site, we think there are between 2,000 and 4,000 that have significant hazardous waste in them". Local residents were informed, "hazardous substances have overflowed the vats and flowed off the site into nearby Blackwater Draw and subsequently through Mackenzie recreational park. The runoff is easily accessible to children at play in the park, golfers, and the park's wildlife." Remediation of the site was expected to take at least five months, at a cost of $3.5 million in federal dollars.<ref name=kcbd2>{{cite news |last=Slother |first=Michael |title=EPA takes charge of hazardous waste site in North Lubbock |url=http://www.kcbd.com/story/15362019/epa-takes-charge-of-hazardous-waste-site-in-north-lubbock |access-date=2011-09-02 |newspaper=[[KCBD|KCBD News]] |date=August 31, 2011 |archive-date=March 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318064231/http://www.kcbd.com/story/15362019/epa-takes-charge-of-hazardous-waste-site-in-north-lubbock |url-status=live }}</ref>