West Texas diversifies as new energy hub

Oil gushed from the vast scrub brush terrain of the Permian Basin and made millionaires of many. From the High Plains just to the north came cattle, cotton and food crops. West Texas held its own economically for decades. But since the 1980s, the region has seen population dwindle and its economy shrivel. While the numbers of farmers, ranchers and oil field workers have steadily declined over the past decade, West Texans have been adapting. The region is evolving into a hub of alternative energy, with plans for ethanol plants and wind farms - and possibly nuclear reactors and coal-powered plants.

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