Abstract
This chapter examines the relationship between urban sprawl, fossil fuel combustion, and climate change, through the lens of a neo-Marxist political economy. It begins by explaining that Marx’s concept of exchange value results in the idea that raw materials have zero exchange value within capitalism. It then uses the U.S. petroleum industry to demonstrate the validity of Marx’s economic conception of natural resources. The chapter also discusses the contribution of urban sprawl to the consumer-durables revolution in the United States.