Gasoline Dreams: Waking Up from Petroculture

Gasoline Dreams is a graphic novel that explores and challenges the ways fossil fuels have shaped our identities, relationships, and ability to imagine sustainable, equitable futures. It reveals the many ways petroculture fails to deliver on its promises of "the good life" and calls us to the difficult work of waking up from the fantasies that inhibit us from working toward a global transition to renewable energy. The book offers a space of hope and engagement from which concerned people can work to build a more sustainable future.

\n Format: Paperback / softback
\n Length: 208 pages
\n Publication date: 28 September 2021
\n Publisher: Fordham University Press
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What if the biggest barriers to responding to climate change are not technological or governmental, but cultural? In other words, what if we ourselves could help to enact change through a deeper understanding of our petroleum dependency? In a provocative graphic format that draws widely from history, critical theory, and popular culture, Gasoline Dreams explores and challenges the ways fossil fuels have shaped our identities, relationships, and our ability to imagine sustainable, equitable futures. As our rapidly warming planet is pushed toward ecological collapse, we might often feel helpless or paralyzed by the enormity of the challenges confronting us. However, reflecting upon the cultural dimensions of our predicament helps reveal the great potential for social transformation inherent in the multiplying crises. Author and artist Simon Orpana engages with contemporary scholarship in the emergent field of Energy Humanities to confront the habits, narratives, and fantasies that support our attachment to fossil fuels. By revealing the many ways petroculture repeatedly fails to deliver on its promises of "the good life," Gasoline Dreams calls us to the difficult work of waking up from the fantasies that inhibit us from working toward a global transition to renewable energy. Written in an engaging graphic format that makes relevant historical, cultural, and political analyses of global warming and petrol dependency important to a wide audience, Gasoline Dreams refutes the progress narratives that depict contemporary, energy-intensive societies as the inevitable product of human history. By revealing the contingencies, coercions, and compulsions that shape our relationship with fossil fuels, Gasoline Dreams offers a powerful critique of the dominant ideologies that perpetuate our dependence on these resources. Through its exploration of the cultural dimensions of climate change, this book provides a roadmap for building a more just and sustainable world.

Introduction:
The challenges posed by climate change are immense, and it is clear that we need to take urgent action to mitigate its effects. However, the cultural dimensions of our predicament are often overlooked, and this can hinder our ability to respond effectively. In this essay, we will explore the ways in which culture shapes our attitudes towards energy, and how this can impact our ability to transition to a more sustainable future.

Habits and Narratives:
One of the most significant ways in which culture shapes our attitudes towards energy is through the formation of habits and narratives. We are often taught from a young age that fossil fuels are a necessary part of our lives, and that they are affordable, reliable, and convenient. These narratives are reinforced by the media, advertising, and popular culture, which promote the use of fossil fuels as a symbol of wealth, power, and progress. As a result, we develop a deep-seated attachment to fossil fuels, which can be difficult to break.

Fantasies and Imaginaries:
In addition to habits and narratives, culture also shapes our fantasies and imaginaries. We often imagine a future in which we continue to rely on fossil fuels, without any negative consequences. This fantasy is reinforced by the media, which portrays a world in which technology has solved all of our problems and we can continue to consume as much as we want without any consequences. As a result, we become complacent about the need to transition to a more sustainable future.

Petroculture:
Petroculture is a term used to describe the cultural aspects of our dependence on fossil fuels. It includes the ways in which fossil fuels are marketed, promoted, and celebrated, as well as the ways in which they are embedded in our daily lives. Petroculture is often seen as a symbol of modernity, progress, and consumerism, and it is deeply ingrained in our society.

Challenges of Transitioning to a Sustainable Future:
Despite the challenges posed by petroculture, it is possible to transition to a more sustainable future. However, this requires a shift in our attitudes towards energy, as well as a change in our policies and practices. One of the biggest challenges is breaking the deep-seated attachment to fossil fuels, which requires a change in our habits and narratives. We need to be taught that there are alternatives to fossil fuels, and that they are more sustainable and affordable.

Conclusion:
In conclusion, culture plays a significant role in shaping our attitudes towards energy, and this can impact our ability to transition to a more sustainable future. We need to be aware of the cultural dimensions of our predicament, and work to challenge and transform the dominant narratives and fantasies that support our dependence on fossil fuels. By doing so, we can build a more just and sustainable world for ourselves and future generations.

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Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9780823297726\n \n