Tuesday, April 1st Hoff Theater -Terry Tamminen, Cabinet Secretary, Chief Policy Advisor to the Governor of California  Terry began by contrasting two cultures that illustrate examples of sustainable development and unsustainable development: the lessons learned from the Hopi Indians in Arizona that exemplify sustainable living (never losing sight of the interconnectedness of each of us to the earth) and the lessons learned from the Rapa Nui of Easter Island.

Jo Anne Van Tilburg a UCLA archeologist who has researched and written extensively on Easter Island found that the island was not always barren and desert, but was once a lush forest. She discovered that the inhabitants had not planned and thought about the future, using up all the resources. When Dutch explorers visited in 1722 there were less than 50 inhabitants and those that were there were living in caves and cannibalistic. He asked which are we? Which path are we going down? We are all faced with the challenge of change- shrinking fossil fuels, global warming, species extinction. The oil, coal and nuclear industry has defined our past.

But we have the opportunity to define our future with clean renewable energy. The sustainable path is the one we must define for ourselves. Terry emphasized the importance of not waiting for leadership from the federal government to meet the climate change challenge and highlighted that 28 states are actively working to reduce GHG emissions through cap and trade systems, agreements and other mechanisms. In California, the Million Solar Roofs Initiative is reducing dependence on fossil fuels and combating global warming. Terry also discussed the importance of going back to our campuses and spreading the knowledge we learn over the course of the next two days. There will be many "ah-ha" moments during the conference and we cannot waste the insights and lessons we learn. We are faced with many challenges and together to solve them. He finished up with an inspiring quote from Martin Luther King Jr on service, "Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love."