Unit 12 Review

How are the lives of Texans changing because of an expanded use of alternative sources of energy?

• Many Texans have increased the amount of electricity their homes require

• Oil prices are decreasing as Texans buy automobiles that use alternative sources of energy

• Dam-building is leading to increased pollution and declining fish populations

• Growing numbers of Texans are using sun and wind energy to power homes and businesses

Which of the following newspaper headlines best describes Texas during the Contemporary Texas Era?

• “Oil discovered in East Texas Field”

• “Many People Move to Texas for Jobs”

• “Texan Leaders Adopt Another Constitution”

• “Texans Learn of the Emancipation Proclamation”

As oil prices started to decline from a then-record high of $37 per barrel in 1981, the share of oil and gas extraction in employment and output tumbled, as did oil and gas-related taxes. Oil prices collapsed to $11 in 1986, and Texas fell into a deep recession. In 1986 and 1987, almost 300,000 people left the state. From 1981 to April 1987, when job losses eased, oil and gas industry employment had shrunk by more than half, or 212,100jobs. The rig count, almost 1,500 at the height of the boom, plunged 83 percent to 255.

Following the 1986 recession, the Texas economy diversified away from oil and gas, and energy’s share of employment and output declined. From 1987 until the onset of the 2001 recession, the mining industry (mainly oil and gas) grew only 18 percent, while total Texasoutput jumped more than 113 percent. The collapse of oil prices, again to $11, in late 1998 following the Asian debt crisis further pushed the energy industry downhill. Oil and gas’ share of output reached its lowest level, 4.1 percent, in 1999. The sector’s employment share also reached its nadir [lowest point], 1.4 percent and 125,000 jobs, in 1990.

— Mine K. Yücel and Jackson Thies, “Oil and Gas Rise Again in a Diversified Texas,”

Southwest Economy, 2011

*Based on the information in the excerpt above, how did the Texas economy change following

the 1980s decline in oil prices?

• Jobs were created in new industries.

• Taxes on oil and gas production were raised.

• Incentives were offered to relocating businesses.

• Government subsidies were given to the oil and gas industry.

The use of irrigation on the plains of the Texas panhandle throughout the twentieth century

facilitated ranching and farming in the region, yet has also resulted in —

• growing invasions of insects

• overgrazing of natural grasslands

• drying up of some underground water sources

• increasing cattle deaths from drinking salt water

Based on the data in the above table, how is the age distribution of Texas’ population projected to change in the future?

• The overall population of Texas will increase while the group of those aged 45-64 will grow least.

• Texas’ population will double by the year 2040 while the group of those aged 5-17 will grow most.

• The overall population of Texas will increase while the group of those aged 65 and over will grow most.

• The population of Texas is expected to decrease while the group of those aged 0-4 will only slowly increase.

• Rising taxes and lower wages

• Shortages of doctors and teachers

• Greater demand for jobs and schools

• Reduced need for trains and subways

Which Texas industry would most likely be affected by an international conflict or crisis in the Middle East?

• Oil

• Cattle

• Cotton

• Lumber

One-third of oil and gas employment was lost between 1982 and 1994. Workers left producing regions as rigs shut down and producers carried through successive reductions in staff; white-collar ranks thinned noticeably from the late 1980s onward, as producers cut technical and managerial personnel in the face of stagnant prices and rising costs. State and local governments found that lower income from production and property taxes necessitated austere budgets, and affected communities launched searches for new revenue and increased efforts to diversify their economies. The proportion of state government revenue from the petroleum industry declined to 7 percent in 1993, one quarter of its level ten years earlier. In the final decade of the twentieth century, a great industry and the aspects of Texas life that were related to it were downsizing.

*Based on the information in the excerpt, the downsizing of the Texas oil industry during the

1980s and 1990s likely contributed to —

• declines in immigration rates

• job cuts in related businesses

• increased environmental regulations

• higher taxes on petroleum industries

Which of the following was a likely effect from establishing the center for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in Houston?

• Housing prices in Houston increased rapidly.

• Tax rates rose to support the Texas aerospace industry.

• Local economies in the Houston area experienced growth.

• Houston grew to become the largest city in the United States.

Match each statement below with the correct party that has that belief about social security.

1)_______________2)_______________

-Support private pension as main security for Americans future

-Support Social Security as main security for Americans future

• 1 - Republican Party

  2 - Democratic Party

• 1 - Green Party

  2 - Republican Party

• 1 - Democratic Party

  2 - Libertarian Party

• 1 - Democratic Party

  2 - Republican Party