History Department Hosts Book Symposium
Posted: February 14, 2008

The University of Houston Department of History will host a symposium on the recently published book, Energy Metropolis: An Environmental History of Houston and the Gulf Coast, on February 26, 2008 at 3:30 p.m. in the Elizabeth Rockwell Pavilion on the second floor of the M.D. Anderson Library. This symposium will be the first in a series that focus on books by UH history faculty members.

Co-edited by University of Houston history professors, Martin V. Melosi and Joseph A. Pratt, Energy Metropolis offers a collection of essays tracing Houston's meteoric rise from a bayou trading post to the world's leading oil supplier. Rich reserves of oil and natural gas and access to international shipping fueled the city's exponential growth. This expansion came at a price, however. Hazardous pollution levels, frequent flooding, deforestation, hurricanes, the energy demands of an air-conditioned lifestyle, automobile traffic, and urban sprawl all escalated the need for massive infrastructure improvements and environmental safeguards. This book offers a profound analysis of the environmental impact of large-scale energy production and unchecked expansion.

The book symposium will include a discussion with the editors, essay authors, and distinguished guest commentators, Craig Colten, Ph.D., of Louisiana State University and Char Miller, Ph.D., of Trinity University. Authors will sign books after the symposium.

Martin Melosi is the Distinguished University Professor of History and one of the world's leading scholars in environmental history and urban history. The author or editor of some thirteen books, Melosi is the president-elect of the Urban History Association and past president of the American Society for Environmental History. Melosi observes, "The subject of Energy Metropolis is important and timely. Houston' history as the 'energy capital' of the world -- or at least of the United States -- places it clearly at the intersection of questions relating to energy production and use and their environmental implications.

Joseph Pratt is the Cullen Professor of History and Business and the author, co-author, and editor of some ten books and numerous articles. A leading historian of the petroleum industry, Pratt comments, "This book will appeal to a wide audience because while Houstonians recognize that energy production has driven the region's economy, they remain concerned about how the changes in the local environment, as a consequence of that activity, have affected the quality of their lives."

The Tenneco Lecture Series and UH History Graduate Student Mentoring Association provide additional funding and support for the symposium. For more details, please contact Stephanie Fuglaar at sfuglaar@uh.edu.

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