According to a National Resources Defense Council report released Tuesday, Texans spent 6 percent of their income on gasoline in 2007, a figure that is sure to rise in 2008 unless people curb their car use considerably (or everybody gets a raise, which seems unlikely). The NRDC report ranks states by their vulnerability to high oil prices, measured by the percentage of income residents spend on gas, and on how well states have taken measures to reduce their dependence on oil. The good news is that Texas is not at the bottom of either list. But our rankings are nothing to brag about. Texas ranked as the 16th-most vulnerable to high gas prices, and as number 36 on the solutions list. (Mississippi, where residents spend 8 percent of their income on gas, was first on the most vulnerable list. Connecticut was the least vulnerable.)

In order to improve this situation, the report recommends that states promote cleaner and more efficient fuels, enact smart growth policies, and fund public transit. Of course, even if Texas takes these steps immediately, the suburban sprawl and massive highway system we've spent the past fifty years building will continue to make it difficult to wean ourselves from oil. But as expensive as investments in public transportation and alternative fuels can be, they won't be as costly as continuing to build and maintain more highways and suburban developments. Better public transportation, in particular, might be the best investment we could make. A March report from the USPIRG Education group shows that over the long term, highways require more government subsidies than public transportation, even though the initial costs for public transportation are higher. High gas prices cut into money we'd rather spend on food, rent, and entertainment, but they might motivate us to invest in better policies and technologies. (Just ask T. Boone Pickens.)