Drought in Texas is a big concern today, and this essay will focus on pollution as a cause of drought in Texas. Coal-fired power plants and vehicle emissions are the main sources of the pollutant hydrocarbons. These hydrocarbons affect our state's weather patterns, resulting in long periods of drought. When hydrocarbons are burned, it causes all kinds of problems. If it is a pure hydrocarbon and it is completely burned, it releases CO2 which is a greenhouse gas. Texas leads the nation in CO2 emissions, which has led to climate change from adequate rain to drought conditions. Texas emits about 11% of U.S. greenhouse gases, more than any other state, according to Kim Chapman in BusinessWeek earlier this year. If Texas were a country, it would be the eighth largest polluter in the world. Coal has been used as a source of energy since 1819. Since then, the population has tripled. During this time, industry and residential growth in our state have also grown dramatically, requiring more electricity. Our government has chosen coal to power these plants, and there are fifteen plants in Texas. In 2005, Texas ranked third in the nation in coal-fired electricity generation, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality publication. The tons of hydrocarbons emitted by these plants have been scientifically proven to alter Texas weather conditions. Texas has more coal-fired electric capacity than any state in the United States. Burning coal releases a huge amount of hydrocarbons into the atmosphere, creating heat that traps ozone on the atmosphere. surface of the earth. This results in a greenhouse effect, which causes global warming not only affecting...... middle of paper ...... emitted a total of nearly 260 million pounds of carbon dioxide, giving the same amount of pollution due to global warming in one year. since 45 million cars today emit them every year. There are over 30 million cars in the state of Texas alone. The use of coal as a source of energy to turn the turbines that produce electricity in the state of Texas must be subject to very strict standards for controlling hydrocarbon emissions. Texas residents need to wake up to our failure to regulate coal-fired power plants and the tremendous growth in the use of gasoline and diesel engines that continue to contribute to the Texas drought. By examining these two leading causes of pollution in Texas, coal burning and vehicle emissions, Texas citizens must take more personal responsibility in efforts to find solutions to balance the need to provide power plants and 'use fuel in their daily lives..