> There was something about being up in Deadhorse that made the idea of the 1,700-mile pipeline particularly upsetting. Here we were at ground zero of American oil development. We saw the industrial squalor, the depraved lifestyles, the sad, empty eyes of the workers. We felt the emptiness within ourselves. This place was an Ayn Rand wasteland, the epitome of our country’s wrongheaded conception of “progress.” The thought of creating more such places, more such jobs, and more such planet-warming greenhouse gases defied, in our eyes, all the tenets of good sense and reason. ( )

Following the Keystone XL

He went for a walk and ended up 1900 miles from where he began a stronger, more hopeful person for the experience. It’s quite an astounding adventure, especially when you consider what a chore it is to get off the sofa for a snack.

If Ken Ilgunas had done nothing more than recount the rigors of his trek, he would have a tale to tell worthy of a reader’s time. But Ilgunas hiked with a purpose in mind: seeing that portion of North America before the Keystone XL wrought whatever damage and change it might. So, in addition to everything entailed in taking a half-year’s hike, Ilgunas educates readers on a variety of subjects, among the geological history of the region, the complexities of satisfying America’s energy needs, the environmental damage caused by tar sands excavation, the difficulty of sustained farming on the Plains (an issue that may be new to many), and a variety of other subjects.

Some of these will make you pause and think, none more than Ilgunas’ discussion of private property rights. Property rights are something we take for granted here without a thought to how they restrict our passage and bar people from experiencing the full wonder of nature in America. Yes, we have national parks, particularly in the East and West. But none in the Plains states. Everything there is held privately; thus Ilgunas’ need to trespass daily to traverse the Plains north to south. Not much of a loss, you might think, if you have never lived on or visited the Great Plains for any extended time. If you have, though, you know, as Ilgunas learned, they are anything but flat and featureless, but they are open, wide, wide open in a way Easterners and Westerners might find either boring or uncomfortable, or both.

As to the Keystone XL, the word most often heard by Ilgunas and by just about anybody with even a nodding acquaintance with the pipeline, is jobs. Jobs, jobs, jobs. This in the face of a reality that Keystone will produce only around thirty-five permanent jobs once completed. True, a few thousand people will be put to work for a short time building it, but after that, nada. Of course, states derive property tax and other revenue from the pipelines and landowners receive payments, as well. The question, however, is at what price to the environment and the potential for contamination of the great Ogallala Aquifer (already endangered by depletion), a very real concern given the proliferation of pipeline breaks and spills.

So, thanks, Ken Ilgunas, for a combination stirring adventure and an eye opener to the people of and the threat to the Great Plains. ( )

Following the Keystone XL

He went for a walk and ended up 1900 miles from where he began a stronger, more hopeful person for the experience. It’s quite an astounding adventure, especially when you consider what a chore it is to get off the sofa for a snack.

If Ken Ilgunas had done nothing more than recount the rigors of his trek, he would have a tale to tell worthy of a reader’s time. But Ilgunas hiked with a purpose in mind: seeing that portion of North America before the Keystone XL wrought whatever damage and change it might. So, in addition to everything entailed in taking a half-year’s hike, Ilgunas educates readers on a variety of subjects, among the geological history of the region, the complexities of satisfying America’s energy needs, the environmental damage caused by tar sands excavation, the difficulty of sustained farming on the Plains (an issue that may be new to many), and a variety of other subjects.

Some of these will make you pause and think, none more than Ilgunas’ discussion of private property rights. Property rights are something we take for granted here without a thought to how they restrict our passage and bar people from experiencing the full wonder of nature in America. Yes, we have national parks, particularly in the East and West. But none in the Plains states. Everything there is held privately; thus Ilgunas’ need to trespass daily to traverse the Plains north to south. Not much of a loss, you might think, if you have never lived on or visited the Great Plains for any extended time. If you have, though, you know, as Ilgunas learned, they are anything but flat and featureless, but they are open, wide, wide open in a way Easterners and Westerners might find either boring or uncomfortable, or both.

As to the Keystone XL, the word most often heard by Ilgunas and by just about anybody with even a nodding acquaintance with the pipeline, is jobs. Jobs, jobs, jobs. This in the face of a reality that Keystone will produce only around thirty-five permanent jobs once completed. True, a few thousand people will be put to work for a short time building it, but after that, nada. Of course, states derive property tax and other revenue from the pipelines and landowners receive payments, as well. The question, however, is at what price to the environment and the potential for contamination of the great Ogallala Aquifer (already endangered by depletion), a very real concern given the proliferation of pipeline breaks and spills.

So, thanks, Ken Ilgunas, for a combination stirring adventure and an eye opener to the people of and the threat to the Great Plains. ( )

Trespassing Across America: One Man's Epic, Never-Done-Before (and Sort of Illegal) Hike Across the Heartland by [Ilgunas, Ken]This is a beautiful book. I had not read anything by this author before so I was tentative about reading it. However, Ilgunas was able to write about each of our states and why many people have hope for the pipeline. He writes about the splendor of the Great Plains and more. He talks about the wide open spaces and how it feels to touch the grass. He raises questions as to what will happen if we become so dependent on oil and don't learn to be more sustainable.

The author was anti-pipeline but he did not raise a stink about it with others, which I was able to relate to very much. I may argue with my husband but with others I tend to stay quiet and let them talk and then I vent later.

I loved this book and I recommend it to all who like this country's beauty. ( )

I love how Ken writes. This book is enlightening in the sense that our really opens ones mind to the many struggles people go though outside of our bubble. From how the homeless live in different weather conditions to how politicians scam us on our actual needs, and everything in between. The world is ours and why we keep treating it like a restaurant garbage can "that's someone else's job to clean up" is beyond me. Taking care of the planet and all creatures living here is everyone's job. ( )