September 12, 1997

Thank you for having me here tonight.  I am not the token politician
who's going to talk about how great I am and what wonderful things
I've done.

This is about you, this is about saving the earth, and this is about
a call to action!!

I want to take just a minute to tell you how glad I am that you have
come to Oregon -- one of the most beautiful places on the globe.  I
am honored to represent Oregon in the Congress, and I am honored to
be here with you tonight.

You and your teachers have prepared for more than a year for this
groundbreaking conference.

This is truly a global project.  Putting aside a minute the work you
have done on the environment, I want to congratulate you on using the
Internet as a tool for global communication.

The way you have communicated back and forth over the Internet to
produce this conference is a model that I want to take back to
Washington to share with the rest of the country.

It's remarkable that if the Internet didn't exist, then this
conference would not have happened, and we wouldn't have the benefit
of your collective wisdom.

How lucky we are for your embrace of the technology, and for your
hard work with it!

Now let's focus on the conference and what you've done.

Over the last few days, you have spotlighted problems with the
environment and put solutions on paper.

At this point, it would be very easy to sit back, congratulate
yourselves on a job well done, and go on about your business.

But I know that you're not going to do that.

That's the reason why I'm here tonight.  I am here tonight because I
care about you, I care about the future and I care about the earth.

I will honor your efforts by presenting your ideas to the President
of the United States and to the United States Congress.

You have taken on some of the biggest problems the world has to offer
-- whether its deforestation, toxic waste or urbanization.

So many people look at these problems as so big and so bad that it's
just futile trying to solve them.  So many people take the ostrich's
approach: if we put our heads in the sand, then the problem can't
hurt us.

I want to thank you for having the optimism and the drive to tackle
these issues head-on, and map out a plan to take charge of the
environment.  You know that we must not coast along, in ignorant
bliss, because the earth needs our help.  We have to make some
changes if we want to preserve our air, our water, our climates -- we
have to take action to save our only home.

But let's strategize for a minute.  You and I all know that people
think that it's "cute" when young adults come together to try to
solve global problems.

I don't think it's cute.

I think it's about shaping the face of the earth.

Tonight, I want to extend an invitation.  I invite the United States
delegation -- and anyone else who is able -- to meet me in Salem or
in Washington, D.C.

I invite you to give me a full briefing in a few weeks so I can best
represent the concerns of the next generation to the United States
Congress.  I encourage those of you from other countries to strike up
similar partnerships with your representatives.

If you have trouble doing that, give me a call, and I will do
everything in my power to have your voices heard.

Tonight is the night to celebrate all that you have accomplished here
over the past week.  You are going to be listening to some leaders in
the environmental community.

You are going to be passing the flag and making a serious commitment
that your efforts will continue and that you will take action.

I salute you, I respect your vision, and I look forward to helping
turn that vision into reality.

Thank you so much for your commitment.