David Klanecky’s journey to Baton Rouge started in a small Nebraska town and has included stops around the world in Spain, Switzerland and China. David is a chemical engineer, and he’s particularly interested in how humans impact the environment. His focus on transportation is especially important both across our increasingly connected globe, as well as our increasingly-congested capital city.
David is also one of the speakers at TEDxLSU 2016 coming up on March 5. I recently caught up with David to get to know him better and to find out a little more about him.
Why have you focused your work on how humans impact the environment?
There are three essential things that are critical for the Earth, and those are water, energy and food; without those, we wouldn’t exist on this planet. I grew up on a farm in the middle of the U.S., and that is where I realized how important those things are to life. As an adult, I am driven to positively influence those three areas to ensure that we live in a better world.
If you could make one drastic, global change tomorrow, what change would create the biggest positive impact for the environment and why?
I’ll cheat, and make two changes: I’d mandate that all energy be created by renewable resources, and that everyone has to recycle waste water. If both of those were to happen, the globe’s emissions would dramatically be reduced and clean water would be more readily available around the world.
The theme of TEDxLSU 2016 is “Why”; when you are wondering about the world, what is your biggest “why” question?
Why do we limit ourselves and the positive impacts we can have on society?
There are always limitations, but we should know that when people set their minds to accomplish something it can be done!
You have worked all over the world; what influences from other cultures have you brought back to your American work environment?
I have returned to the U.S. with a better understanding of how other cultures approach their daily lives and working relationships. Every culture places different levels of importance in work relationships, friendships, and how it impacts our social surroundings. To be a global citizen, you have to live in another continent and walk in their shoes to understand a different perspective.
Speaking of food, have you eaten any foods in your world travels that would be considered weird by Louisianans? Did you enjoy them?
Duck tongue, chicken feet, fish eyeballs and live shrimp, just to name a few. I didn’t particularly enjoy them, though the live shrimp weren’t too bad.
What is your favorite mode of transportation, and why?
My favorite would have to be either train or plane; that way I don’t have to worry about traffic or directions!
If you could invite any one person in particular to come to your TEDxLSU 2016 talk, who would you pick and why?
I would invite my mom. She has always been supportive and she’s consistently told me how proud she is of me. This would be pretty cool for her to see.
Which other speaker’s TEDxLSU 2016 talk are you most interested to hear, and why?
I’m extremely interested to hearBianca Smith’s talk. I have two young daughters, and I’m always looking for ways to inspire them to be leaders and to be strong young women.
Mardi Gras season is underway, so we’ll end with the most important question: What’s your favorite king cake flavor?
Chocolate. You cannot go wrong with a chocolate king cake.
