Texas would rank seventh in the world in carbon emissions if it were its own country, according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.<\/p>\n
Texas, the second most populous state, behind California, has 23.5 million people and more than 20 million registered vehicles, about one in four of them a pickup truck. California has a population of 36.5 million and 33 million registered vehicles.<\/p>\n
Transportation accounted for 28 percent of Texas’ carbon emissions in 2003.<\/p>\n
The number of hybrid vehicles registered in Texas more than doubled last year, to 48,550. Still, that’s only a fraction of 1 percent of all vehicles registered in the state.<\/p>\n
"As more hybrids are added on, particularly hybrids that are trucks, you see a spike in those," said Kim Sue Lia Perkes, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Transportation title and registration division. "You might not get Texans out of their trucks, but they will buy their hybrid trucks."<\/p>\n