The Texas in the news is the one that affects people's quality of life. Nature is great, but nature won't protect you from hostile legislators, and you can find amazing nature in almost every state (hence why that aspect doesn't warrant news coverage). I wouldn't be surprised if Texas GOP legislators eventually sell off that beautiful nature, or remove protections for it, to get kickbacks from whatever company wants to exploit it in the coming years.
I maintain that Texans who love Texas because it's Texas have rose-colored glasses and remember a past time when it used to be a pretty nice place to live, overall.