Texas Tops US in CO2 Emissions

Texas—the land of big oil, big agriculture, pickup trucks, wide-open spaces, and little mass transit—not only is the biggest emitter of CO2 among states, it ranks eighth in the world, a new study says. It’s also one of the few states without any climate plan in the works. "Oil companies run the show,” an activist tells Newsweek.

But the clean winds of change may be blowing. “Texans are starting to demand that something happen,” says the ex-mayor of Dallas, who led a 40-city coalition opposing new coal power plants. Investors see green opportunities, and Republican legislators are pushing a climate action plan, says one state rep, rather than letting “a bunch of federal bureaucrats stuff something down our throats.” (More Texas stories.)