Distinctly Montana Magazine

"Earth is a pretty fine place to be, and we have to be careful not to mess it up." Callout can go here model where we should be heading, where America should be leading? I think as Americans it's important that we try to find work that means something to us. Whether it's our day to day jobs, volunteer work or the work we do within our own families to better the lives of our loved ones. If we're passionate about what we do and do work that makes us feel better, our happiness index will increase a lot more. * You call yourself an "internationalist." What does that mean to you? What's wrong with being called an internationalist? Does it mean that I'm not proud to be an American? Of course not! I find those kinds of characterizations to be silly. We live in an interconnected world. Decisions individual people and countries make have huge ripple effects. What we do affects others; what others do affects us. I think that the more America adopts an internationalist posture, the greater America's standing and respect will be in the world. Strength doesn't come by imposing your will on others; it comes from doing things that others admire and makes them want to be just like you. * Certainly your wealth has allowed you to be incredibly influential and active in meaningful ways. What would you have done, and how would you have lived with an ordinary, average income? I would live the same way I do now, within my means. I would give away what I could and save and economize the rest. Even now, as a big operation, we still have to meet a budget and the things we do have to be economically sustainable or they won't last. I often say you don't have to be rich to pick up trash on the street. I do it all the time and so can you. That's a small thing, but if we all do it, it will make a difference. No matter how much money we make, we have the power to influence the world in a positive way. Two disconnects with your values are the number of your children and your private jet, which fly in the face of "overpopulation" and "contributing to climate change. How do you reconcile those? I'm not perfect. Not even close, and I'm the first to admit it. I try to be consciously aware of my actions and how they might conflict with my core values and then I do my best to do positive things that offset those actions. As I say in the book, if I were a young parent today, I would only have two kids. That doesn't mean that I don't love the five children I have. It just means that I try to work harder to support activities that improve the global human condition and that reduce my own carbon footprint — and my children do the same. I started the United Nations Foundation to help the UN solve global problems like over-population. Our first priority on our properties is to keep them ecologically healthy because healthy landscapes absorb more carbon. We invest in alternative energy and promote energy efficiency and reduction of waste in all of our operations, including our 44 Ted's Montana Grill restaurants. If, on balance, you help support the global community as you add to it, and you are doing more to reduce your footprint than expand it, you're ahead in the game. If you let your contradictions prevent you from trying to do better, then you're already defeated. * How would you like your epitaph to read? Over the years, I've given a variety of answers to that question. I could probably say something clever here. But I don't believe you write your own epitaph. Others who carry on after you get to decide. I hope people realize that I cared and while I wasn't always perfect, I did what I could with the time and resources I had to do the right thing. Watch Ted Turner chat with Tom Brokaw: DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL www.distinctlymontana.com/turner133 w w w. d i s t i n c t ly mo nt a na .co m 77

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