Faces: People, Places, and Cultures articles from February 2005

Faces: People, Places, and Cultures archives from February 2005

Editor's message.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
February 1, 2005... Dear Reader, Besides water, no substance has had a greater impact on the world than oil. Not only does it fuel cars and heat homes, but it also is used to make many oil-based products that surround us. From the rubber on the soles of your...

Only in ... oil.(Petroleum-based plastics)
February 1, 2005... Do you ever use a ballpoint pen? Chances are that most of the materials it took to make that pen came from oil. Today almost 100% of plastics are made from oil. Plastics made from oil are called petroleum-based plastics (PBPs). These...

Our dependence on oil.(Oil use and environmental impact)
February 1, 2005... If you live in the United States, chances are very good that you have ridden in a car within the past 24 hours. More than 300 million automobiles exist in this country, and all of them consume an increasingly limited and costly substance:...

Through time: oil.(Brief Article)(Chronology)
February 1, 2005... 3000 B.C. Ancient people collect oil from large seeps on the Euphrates River. Small surface occurrences of petroleum in the form of natural gas and oil seeps have been known from early times. A.D. 347 In China, oil wells are drilled using...

Fill'er up! The history of the gas station.
February 1, 2005... In 1900, there were 20 million horses and only 4,000 cars in the United States. Where there are gas stations today, stables and blacksmith shops stood. In its early days, the oil industry existed to manufacture kerosene, a fuel for lamps....

Is oil good for Africa?(Could oil bring peace in Sudan)
February 1, 2005... What color is oil? A reporter asked this question of people living by the oil fields of southern Sudan. Their answers were telling. Sudan, a huge country near the top of Africa, has been torn by civil war for more than 20 years. The Arab...

Growing fuel.(ethanol)
February 1, 2005... Henry Ford fueled his first automobile, the 1896 quadricycle, with ethanol (ETH-ah-nol). Also known as ethyl alcohol, ethanol is made from fermented plant materials. Ford promoted use of this renewable fuel to help American farmers earn money....

Be an energy sheriff.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... You can become the energy sheriff of your house by checking to see where energy is wasted. The ideas listed here will help you to conserve natural gas, electricity, gasoline, and heating oil. How many good energy habits does your family already...

Oklahoma oil boom.
February 1, 2005... During Oklahoma's oil boom, oil wells cropped up everywhere, including behind churches. INSET: A 1940s postcard informed tourists of Oklahoma's status as an oil producer. An untamed land blanketed with forests and hills became home to...

One country's story: oil and Saudi Arabia: in 1938, after years of dry wells, the drilling of Damman Well Number 7 released "black gold" ...
February 1, 2005... For more than 3,000 years, Saudi Arabians engaged in a barter economy, trading goods rather than cash. Nomads traded meat or cheese for vegetables and fish. Villagers worked date plantations or small farms and traded fruit and greens for items...

Life aboard the Den Haag.(oil tankers)
February 1, 2005... In a modern oil tanker, life may be earnest and it is certainly real, but it is also extraordinarily pleasant. If conditions on merchant vessels were ever as bad as popular opinion believes, today they have changed for the better. Today not...

Oil's journey.
February 1, 2005... We have discussed in this issue how oil has impacted different cultures round the world. But how exactly is oil transported from place to place? How does oil go from its source to its destination? There are three principal methods used to...

Ask faces!(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2005... Here is your chance to send us your world culture- and geography-related questions! Each month, our expert will answer several questions from readers like you. Want to know where the world's highest mountain is located? What is the largest...

A great debate.(Think About it ...)
February 1, 2005... Throughout this issue, you have learned many advantages and disadvantages of the production and use of gasoline. Americans especially are concerned with the high price of oil and gasoline. Now is your turn to debate something many Americans...

Face facts.(Think About It ...)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... AH, YES! THIS WAS A VERY CRUDE YEAR FOR OIL! ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTFUL! In the early days of oil production in Titusville, Pennsylvania, oil was stored in old wooden wine barrels. Although oil is no longer transported in barrels, the term...

Gib Morgan: tall tale teller, tall tale hero.(Gilbert Morgan)
February 1, 2005... Oilmen, from Pennsylvania to West Texas to oil fields around the world, have heard at least a few of the legends of Gilbert "Gib" Morgan. He was a real person, born in 1842 in Callensburg, Pennsylvania, not far from Titusville, where the first...

Oil and Gas.(Brief Article)(Children's Review)(Book Review)
February 1, 2005... 0il and Gas by John Paul Zronik From an oil-spraying blowout that interrupts a drilling crew's dinner to the cost of pollution and transportation, this book gives you an interesting overview of the saga of oil. Zronik's book mixes...

Saudi Arabia.(Brief Article)(Children's Review)(Book Review)
February 1, 2005... Saudi Arabia by Wende Fazio Saudi Arabia has the largest sand desert in the world, with dunes reaching more than 1,000 feet high. It has a nomadic bedouin community that, along with the country's vast arid areas, forms much of the...

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
February 1, 2005... Exxon Valdez Oil Spill by Nichol Bryan Does wading through chocolate pudding sound like fun? It wasn't fun at all for the cleanup workers who rushed to save wildlife after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska. That chocolate...

Oil.(Brief Article)(Children's Review)(Book Review)
February 1, 2005... Oil by Christin Ditchfield Ditchfield's book not only tells about how scientists work to clean up an oil spill, but also provides an experiment that you can perform to see it happen. Working with just a few items from around the house, you...

Sea Otter Rescue.(Brief Article)(Children's Review)(Book Review)
February 1, 2005... Sea Otter Rescue by Roland Smith This is a fascinating look at how professionals and volunteers banded together in the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez disaster to save as many of the area's sea otters as possible. As the author notes,...

Drake Well Museum.(Museums)
February 1, 2005... Get to know the early years of the petroleum industry when you visit the site of the United States' first oil well. 205 Museum Lane, Titusville, PA 16354 (814) 827-2797 www.drakewell.org

Saudi Aramco.(On-line)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... This Web site of the world's largest international petroleum company is filled with facts and figures on the industry. It provides valuable sections on oil spill preparedness and marine studies, as well as links to other informative sites. ...

United States Department of Energy.(On-line)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Kids Zone is loaded with student-oriented activities. Contests, games, and quizzes are just part of how fun and information about all types of power sources are combined. The sections on Energy Basics and History and Milestones are terrific...

Mystery photo.(Further Exploring)
February 1, 2005... Did you guess that the photograph is of the cover to a car's gas tank?

One last face.
February 1, 2005... Few gas stations employ people to pump gas for customers. However, this man seems happy to fill his own gas tank. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]