Jaz Pintar's post "Texas Vs. The World" is about alternative energy versus fossil fuels. The post is concise and touches on the individual and state economic situation that alternative energy may cause.
While economic effects are important when considering switching to alternative energy, there are much more important issues. Economically, switching to jobs that require more training and specialization not only improve the country's economy but will also improve the state's. Moving towards jobs that require more education and specialization has improved many other state's economies and leads to a healthier economy that is not reliant on finite resources.
Another issue is that Texas is 4th (out of 50 states) in economic health, but 1st in hazardous waste creation. The oil industry is helping the economy, but at what cost? Living in urban areas, we don't have to reap the disadvantages of major oil industry pollution, yet. If we keep producing and using fossil fuels the way that we have, there won't be an issue of "who" it affects to switch to alternative fuels, it will be a necessity for survival. Even if the environmental effects aren't convincing enough, the economic reality of relying on finite resources should be. To have so much of an economy be reliant on a finite resource is setting Texas up for failure, at least with alternative energy the jobs from production would stay intact because alternative energy isn't finite and it would allow us to use more of other natural resources that won't be as polluted or toxic.
The state of Texas' economic health, while heavily reliant on the oil industry, is becoming increasingly reliant on the tech industry as more and more people are moving to Texas' urban areas. I believe that alternative energy and moving the economy away from reliance on a finite resource is the best way to serve Texans, because otherwise, Texas is looking at several environmental, financial, and humanitarian crises.
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