May 9, 2009—February 7, 2010

American Indians had been aware of oil seeps for centuries and used the tar they found at the surface to treat a variety of ailments. Since then, oil has been cultivated into every aspect of life: from plastics to medicines, from mascara to Vaseline, from fabrics to food.  Today, debate rages over how to wean the country off of oil and feed it with biofuels, wind, sun or other energy alternatives to calm the current energy crisis and stop the future detrimental economic impact of costly energy.