The Lone Smog State

THE Texas Independence Trail, a dreary stretch of road on the outskirts of Houston, is inspiring in name only. Lined with some of the state's largest oil refineries and petrochemical plants, the trail ends in the murky town of La Porte at the monument to the Battle of San Jacinto, an obelisk which, from afar, is virtually indistinguishable from the dozens of smokestacks that dot the skyline. In the smog that often hangs over this hallowed ground, it is hard to conjure up images of 1836, when Texan soldiers crying “Remember the Alamo!” defeated the advancing Mexican army.