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Argues that the United States refuses to address global warming because of the reliance of the American economy on urban sprawl.

This far-reaching and penetrating study sheds new light on the role of the United States in global warming. Shortly after the Second World War, urban development in the United States became an important spur for the global economy, creating demand for products such as automobiles, furniture, and appliances. Growing urban sprawl in recent decades is also a key factor behind the massive energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions of the American economy. Although today the United States is the largest per capita emitter of carbon dioxide, the nation's culpability in global warming is frequently sidestepped due to the enormous political and economic influence of corporations and wealthy individuals who continue to benefit from America's access to abundant supplies of fossil fuels. Troubling and insightful, Urban Sprawl, Global Warming, and the Empire of Capital reveals both the alarming global consequences of urban sprawl at home and the entrenched political and economic forces working against a solution to the problem.