Guest Column by GeoT
Dateline: 08/01/00
"Drivers: Start your engines!" The automobile race begins. The beginning of the auto race began long before this, back in 1680! Christian Huygens began to experiment with an internal combustion engine. So did J.J. Etienne Lenoir in 1859. And, Nikolaus A. Otto in 1876. Otto's engine operated on a 4-stroke cycle and we drive around today using variants of the Otto Cycle engine. Gottlieb Daimler experimented with engines and is credited with inventing the first 'modern' internal combustion engine, using the Otto principle. All 4-stroke internal combustion engines of the modern day are said to be descendants of Daimler's. There are also 2-stroke gasoline engines, and of course, Diesels, in both 2 and 4 stroke versions.
Just who invented the automobile is an arguable item. Several automobiles were created in various places almost simultaneously. Many would give the nod to Karl Benz, of Germany. Daimler fans may not agree. We can agree on this: the importance of the automobile and the changes it has wrought.
Consider the Geographic Axiom: "A resource is not a resource until people learn to use it."
(Marco Polo is said to have brought word to Venice, Italy, from his travels in China, of 'black rocks dug out of the ground to make fires' and few would believe him! The Europeans had no knowledge of coal. But, they would. And, Europe would change considerably as a result.)
Consider what else was 'known' but of no apparent value: The petroleum reserves of the Middle East. They were recognized in Biblical times. Oil seeps. Gas jets flaming in the deserts. Petroleum, "oil from rock", filthy, stinking, slimy, messy stuff. Places where it appeared at the surface were places to avoid!
In the Middle East of those times, the oasis dwellers were the ones considered 'rich', having an adequate supply of water and food, they lived a life of 'luxury' in the green areas. The nomads, wandering the brown deserts and steppes, were hungry, poor, and struggling. They would sometimes attack the oasis dwellers. The oasis dwellers were scorned, but also envied. All this would change dramatically.
The Industrial Revolution was in full swing by the time of the automobile, and had already modified population patterns. For the first time, cities and their industries had shifted to the location of coalfields, fuel for those external combustion steam engines powering the factories of the day.
Then, along came the Otto engine, the automobile, and various new ways of using petroleum.
There was a shift in the Middle East too.
Suddenly, those poor, brown, dry lands, became coveted - not for the bare rock, gravel and sandy surface, but for the oil that lay beneath them. The nomads became the 'rich' ones, very rich, they were the ones that controlled that surface over the pools. The oasis dwellers are now considered the impoverished! How things can change!
Proof again of the Axiom: "What happens in one place can affect what happens someplace else".
In a region of conflict for centuries over culture, economics, and politics, a new element had been added. The geopolitics of the world today is very concerned with the Middle East and few decisions are made without considering the importance of that petroleum, and who controls it.
We may drive down the Interstate on fuel produced nationally, or imported from other world sources, but the impact of the Middle East's petroleum reserves is always factored into the overall equation.
Well. . . . . . Time to go fire up the little one lung Otto engine and cut the grass!
GeoT is a long-time high school geography teacher from Illinois. In addition to geography, he enjoys railroads and model railroads, old Oldsmobiles, and gardening.
