General overview of llgunas hike: Recently I had the pleasure of hearing a speech from a man who had hiked the entirety of the Keystone XL pipeline by himself. Ken llgunas a 29-year-old male from Buffalo New York was working in the oil fields of Alaska when one day he felt compelled to hike the Keystone XL pipeline. Llgunas's callings to hike the Keystone XL pipeline revolved around his strong opinion about the Keystone XL pipeline causing more harm than good to our environment. Llgunas's hope was to spread awareness to the general public about the damage he believed fossil fuels were having on the environment.
llgunas's journey: Llgunas's journey began in Canada and would last from September 13th, 2012 to February 8th, 2013. Before embarking on his trip Llgunas stocked up on essentials such as an adequate supply of food, water, lighting, and clothing. Llgunas's journey from Canada all the way down to Port Author Texas. While traveling llgunas asked citizens their opinions on the pipeline. Llgnunas noticed the attitude of the pipeline varied from state to state. Certain people's livelihood depended on the Keystone XL while some people wanted it gone as soon as possible. Llgunas witnessed more of the positive reactions surrounding the Keystone XL in places such as Alberta Canada and Texas. These specific locations are places where the ground is most suitable for mining oil. This has prompted a large number of people to become directly or indirectly involved in the oil and gas industry. Directly being involved in this business means you have worked firsthand by mining the oil out of the ground, refining it, or transporting the oil. Indirectly working in the business could be working at a hotel, restaurant, or shop located near an oil field. The pipeline's ability to provide a large variety of new jobs in these areas has caused a huge economic boost to many people.
One example of the pipeline's ability to cause a huge economic boost involved a farmer Llgunas interviewed while hiking across Canada. The farmer stated how he and several other farmers got the company to up their compensation 30 times from their original offer. Llgunas encountered a different reaction when encountering a local citizen in Nebraska. This citizen named Gary worked at the town's history museum in Omaha Nebraska. Gary's attitude towards climate change reflected more concern towards what is happening rather than a specific reason why it is happening. After meeting Gary, Llgunas's journey lasted several more months where he would encounter issues such as weariness, famine, and dehydration before making it to Port Arther Texas where the pipeline ends. On February 8th, 2013 Llgunas arrived in Port Arther Texas where he encountered the oil refinery. Llgunas was blown away seeing the ability man possessed to create something like this. Unfortunately recognizing this Llgunas saw the potential man plays towards destroying our environment.
Takeaway/ questions I have after hearing this: While I see and understand some of the concerns Llgunas expressed while discussing his journey I do not entirely see the realism behind eliminating fossil fuels completely. As someone who is from Texas, I see the economic benefit oil and gas has provided to many people's livelihoods. I know many families who are or have worked in the oil and gas industry at some point in their lives. Eliminating fossil fuels means you force those people to seek out new jobs. Unknown to many people Fossil Fuels produce many other products other than natural gas such as clothes, cell phones, purses, shoes, and many more. Eliminating Fossil Fuels would mean we would be unable to receive many of these items. Finally, Llgunas speech did not convey a method towards eliminating fossil fuels. Overall despite some of my objections, I found it helpful and informative to hear about Llgunas's journey and his perspective on fossil fuels.
sources:
https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2019/11/f68/Products%20Made%20From%20Oil%20and%20Natural%20Gas%20Infographic.pdf
http://www.kenilgunas.com/2012/10/day-17-oyen-alberta.html
https://5thworldadventures.blogspot.com/2018/07/map-us-shale-oil-fields.html
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