The oil industry in Texas isn’t nearly as large as some folk think. It’s actually a fairly small part of the population that is directly engaged in either the drilling or refining side of it.
However, it has a huge economic impact from a revenue standpoint. I think a decent amount of the citizens recognize that. Also, I think most Texans are a pragmatic lot (excepting the loonies in Austin), who realize that plastic is ubiquitous, and it’s uses touch every part of our lives, in ways that we don’t often think about.
Finally, though they say that California had a love affair with the automobile, you just really can’t live in Texas without them. There are 740 miles between Shreveport to El Paso.
Texas is a HUGE land mass can’t imagine living in Texas with out a car or a HUGE TRUCK!!