essay

Saud Alotaibi

WRC 1013.01s

Prof. M. Leath

4 August 2014

essay #2

Texas vs. Alabama

There exist a number of differences and similarities between the states of Texas and Alabama in terms of geography, climate, history, government and politics, economy, demographics, culture, education, healthcare, transport services, and so forth. Texas has the second largest population after California and second largest in size of the 50 states of United States after Alaska. Texas is not predominantly a desert since only 10% of the land area is a desert. It has beautiful and diverse landscape on which most of the state’s population lives particularly areas that were initially coastline, forests, grasslands, prairies. Alabama, on the other hand, ranks as 23rd most populous city of the United States of America’s 50 states. Alabama is the 30th largest state of the US with 3.2% of the state under water. Most of the land area of the Alabama, unlike Texas, is a gentle plain with several exceptions such as North Alabama region whose landscapes are predominantly mountainous (Murray 4-6). Just like Texas, Alabama has capricious weather having an average annual temperature of 18 degrees Celsius. Temperatures tend to be slightly warmer to the south than the northern regions of the state. Alabama has generally hot summers and mild winters with an average rainfall of 1400mm per year across the state. Summers in Alabama are generally higher than in Texas with some areas experiencing up to 32 degrees Celsius temperatures throughout the summer (Heos 9-11).

Texas is a home to a variety of insects and animals which form the major tourist attraction. There is an estimated 213 classes of amphibians and reptiles, 64 kinds of mammals and the highest number of types of birds in the US which is about 590 native kinds in total. The flora within the Texas state includes wildflowers of bluebonnet and state flower which line along most of the highways across the state. Texas has a greatly capricious weather that ranges from cold winters in some regions, mild winters and varied rainfall pattern with areas such as southeast Texas receiving as much as 1600mm rainfall annually and consistent summers of up to 32 degrees Celsius in most of the areas. Texas leads in the emission of greenhouse gases in the entire US and ranks 7th in the whole world and this is attributed to the high number of plants that dealing in coal power as well as numerous manufacturing and refining industries (Kennedy 29-31). Alabama is, as well, home to varied array of flora and fauna. It ranks top among the top ten nations that have a differentiated biodiversity. Alabama has much more forest cover of pine kind than Texas so much that it is the largest proportion in the state. It is approximated that Alabama has 93 reptile species, 62 mammal species, 73 amphibian species, 307 species of freshwater fish, and 420 species of birds (Heos 21-26).

The Texas government has a Governor with limited powers as it assumes the plural executive branch where most executive offices are independently elected by voters, with exception of Secretary of State. This, therefore, means that the officers are directly answerable to these voters. The Texas States legislature is bicameral in nature as it consists of 150 members of the House of Representative and a 31 member Senate. The Texas judiciary is one the most complex in US as it has numerous overlapping jurisdictions with two levels of courts last resort namely Texas court of criminal appeals Texas Supreme. The notable aspect of the Texas court system is its use of capital punishment and this makes it to earn a reputation of having a harsh form of punishment for criminals (Kennedy 12-16).

The Texas political policies are predominantly republican as Texas voters have been supporting the Republican presidential candidates since 1980. Texas is one of the largest economies in the US that is attributed to enormous population size estimated to be over 26 million as of July 1st, 2013, diverse natural resources, flourishing cities and prominent higher education institutions. The discovery of oil in the state has, as well, led to a major economic boom. Texas is known across the US to have one of the lowest tax rates. Other areas that Texas has invested in include agriculture, mining, energy, technology, commerce, and so forth.

The Alabama state constitution is the far much larger than the Texas’s and inevitably the longest constitution in the world. Unlike the Texas constitution, critics have cited that in Alabama’s, powers are limitedly vested on the public. The Alabama’s legislature has fewer members of House of Representative members totaling to 105 but more Senate members that total to 35. Just like Texas, Republican Party has the majority members of legislature which is as well bicameral in nature. Alabama’s Judiciary is not as much complex as Texas’s as the main function is application of law based on civil and criminal justice. Alabama has as well relatively low tax burden in the US as it currently 2nd least tax-burdened state in US (Heos 39-41).

Alabama is, as well, rich in educational institutions right from elementary levels to institution of higher learning with the largest campus in the entire state being the University of Alabama. The economy heavily depends on investments in healthcare, banking, education, industries such as automobiles, steel making, mining, aerospace, and so forth. The state has minimal investments in agriculture, unlike Texas, and does not have oil reserves (Heos 44).

Works Cited

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Heos, Bridget. Alabama: Past and Present. New York: Rosen Central, 2010. Internet resource.

Kennedy, William. Texas: The Rise, Progress, and Prospects of the Republic of Texas. California: R. Hastings.

Murray, Julie. Texas. Edina, Minn: ABDO Pub, 2006. Internet resource.

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