Oil and gas producers give back to their communities and keep the state moving forward as a whole, the director of Kansas Strong told a Great Bend audience last week.
Warren Martin, executive director of the nonprofit organization, spoke at the Kansas Oil and Gas Museum, explaining his role in educating the public about the second-largest industry in Kansas.
“Right now there is a very negative and slanted perspective about the oil and gas industry,” Martin said. “What most people think about this industry is the prices at the gas pump. Most people don’t realize that petroleum products are in almost everything they touch and do.”
Petroleum products are used in over 6,000 basic products that people use throughout their daily routines, said Martin, a philosophy graduate of Texas Tech University. From tractor tires to fertilizer, both made with petroleum, advances in the industry allow the growth of more food and provide jobs.
Kansas Strong is funded by the Kansas Oil and Gas Resources Fund, a nonprofit organization voluntarily funded by oil and natural gas producers. In addition to keeping the public informed about environmental issues and how the industry works to improve people’s way of life, a key part of its mission is educating children, Martin said.
Children are taught math and geology skills through the Kansas Strong Education programs that are offered through workshops provided to teachers in Kansas.