>> it's my pleasure, such a treat, to come out to this neck of the woods and get to participate with ted and with todd this evening. i want to start, ted, with montana. you have other properties, you are all over the world.

but you have four here in montana. what brought you out here and made you fall in love with this country? >> it's just a beautiful place, the people are beautiful, and the weather is great. it's just the closest thing to heaven i've found on this earth. [applause] >> i like the rockie mountains. >> they listed the conservation easement. that's a huge easement on the flying d and other properties. what possessed you to preserve that much land? >> temporary insanty. [laughter] >> no. i loved it and i didn't want to see it developed except for wildlife and nature. >> what about the bison? obviously you have been at the forefront of returning that

creature to our native lands here. what made you fool in love with the bison and then decide to do the kind of work, bringing down the fences, restoring the landscape so that animal could flourish. >> well that all happened pretty much at the same time, but when i was a little boy, i was fascinated by nature, obviously, and i read every book in the library that i could get my hands on, about all aspects of nature. butterflies, and the bison intrigued me because it was the largest land animal in north america and it was brought to the edge of extinction by our foolishness, and i wanted to see if i could help bring it back, and when i started 30 years ago, started collecting and breeding bison, there were 30,000 bison in north america, which was all that there were in the world.

and now there are 500,000. 10 times as many, more than ten times as many. [applause] >> and of 500,000, 55,000 are on our ranches. so we have 10% of all the bison in the world, and 10% of all the prairie dogs. >> as beautiful as they are, anybody who has the sliders earlier knows how good they are. tell us about your relationship you. have known ted for a long time. tell us how that started and then the last stand, how the book came about. >> the book took seven years to write, so our conversation goes back more than 20. and i was on an assignment for a new york magazine, and ted had recently arrived in montana in cowboy country and hat booted all the cattle off and raised

a -- jaynes on -- a disturbances on am radio and that other network we won't mention tonight. but i arrived thread and ted strolled into the room. he was a swagger and at the top of his game. i was a little bit intimidated, not quite as intimidate -- i'm not intimidated now but i was then. and he looked me over and told me that i had 20 minutes for an interview i thought would last an hour, and after sizing me up he decided to give me more time. so, that conversation has continued to play out, and i was particularly intrigued at the time with what he wanted to accomplish in the west. he has an incredible ability for being able to look into the future and look around corners, and he had done it with media, taking a great crasher's

mentality to winning the america's cup, and he did it with the brave as well so it's been interesting to watch that play out with nature. >> tell us more about the book, about the concept. "call me ted" came out and was a huge success. we learned a lot about ted. so tell us what different stories you wanted to tackle with "the last dance." there have been several books that have come out. ted wrote his memoir, "call me dead." dealt primarilily with his business career, mentioned some aspects in last stand but didn't dive very deep into them, and when i started this i wanted to not only interview ted and get at his motivation, but i interviewed a number of people that he has collaborated with over the years, gorbachev, aunanimous, the late richard holbrooke, a whole cast of people, and it really is a story

that hadn't been told in the depth. so that's how it started. >> you have done that. >> talk about people who you lived up to, the environmentalists who have meant something to your in your life, that you have worked --ike jacques cousteau -- >> oh, okay. jacque cousteau, and jane good all, the chimpanzee lady. and jan michelle cousteau, captain cousteau's son, is very, very leadership position in this area. >> there's a story you told me, and it was about you and jacque cousteau going down the amazon, and i think things were looking

deslute in the environmental world and he shared a conversation with you. do you remember that? >> sure. >> tell me the story. >> i was a little discouraged, and back when reagan was president, and i -- [laughter] >> he had just called the russia the evil empire, and that's not the way you get -- not the way you make friendsment so anyway, i just said, jacques, i'm having a hard time keeping -- from getting discouraged, getting rid of nuclear weapons and having peace in the world. and he said, ted, even if we knew for sure we were going to lose, which we don't, what else could men of good conscious do but keep fighting to the very end? and whenever i tended to get discouraged since then -- that

was 25 years ago -- i remember what the captain said, and i say that to myself. and i the discouragement passes away. >> that was a moment, todd, when ted was able to get sunday stennance from cousteau -- -- sunday nance from taiko and that was returned. >> ted picked up the mantle from cousteau, cousteau said try too make a difference with your impact, and then 15 years later, cousteau was ailing and ted and accuse store were together watching the filming of the film gettyburg, and cousteau has begun to despair and ted lifted up cousteau when he was down. cousteau thought it was time to give up. and in fact, jan michelle

cousteau told me a story and he actually cried telling it of the difference at the that ted turner has made and the fact that ted became -- ted at one point had been the student of the master, and he in turn had become a master, and i think it's a story of transference, really. >> i want to read -- we have asked if anybody wanted to e-mail questions, and politically sensitive questions, always great to blame it on someone else but i will not read the sender's name. since polls consistently reveal a strong majority of montanans support conservation itselfs in fav of clean air, clean water, open spaces, wild country, protecting wildlife habitate, whoa do you think they elect politicianness the state legislature who seem to oppose efforts to protect the environment? [applause]

>> well, we have that all over the united states, and to a lesser degree all over the world. it's just -- a lot of people that run for office don't agree with the majority. they are running because they're angry about something, and they don't like what is being proposed. in a free country you're allowed to do that. we just have to be sure that we have enough electable candidates we win the elections and get our program adopted rather than theirs. >> you had demonstrated and, yes, money helps, but the will, the determination, the perseverance, that you have demonstrated, what would you say to kids or to people who sometimes feel so frustrated when they look at the political

process, feels like it's moving too slowly, what do you say to individuals who are trying to make a difference on their own? >> keep working at it. don't give up. and in the end, the group that wins is going to be the one that perseveres the best. >> i'm going to broaden it because in the last couple of days, i think here's a great example. president obama in the last several days, announced he his two leading initiatives in his second term are getting rid of nuclear weapons weapons and glol climate change and i think he is, dare i say, following in ted's footprints, and tell us a little bit. now that we're looking at the president taking a leading role, what that organization does, the nuclear threat initiative. tell us what it does.

>> it's a trying to persuade public opinion in favor of nuclear disarmament. >> you have former secretaries of state, just amazing persons -- >> the very best leadership people that could he could line up. henry kissinger, bell -- bill perry, himself, and -- who was the fourth one? yeah, george hill, former secretary of state. and just trying to sway public opinion with films and editorials and discussion. and they're doing a good job. we're closer to getting rid of nuclear weapons than we have probably ever been. >> why -- [applause]

>> nice to think, so, anyway. >> and through the u.n. foundation, so many initiatives centered around women. education. health, so many aspects. why the focus -- this is rhetorical question, ladies -- why the focus on women? or maybe we shouldn't ask that question. >> they look better on tv than men. [laughter] >> it's high time we got women more involved in all of the leadership activities, and we are doing that. and back here in the united states there are more women in college now than there are men. and more women in graduate school. >> well, do you recall the story about political office? you like to tell them what you said about women in political

office? >> i still believe it. i think it's a little impractical, but i advocated having men be barred from serving in public office. in any elected job, in any elected body, for 100 years. and i think at the end of that time or long before it, we'd have the military budget would be slashed dramatically, and the money would go to education and to health care. [applause] >> where it should go. [applause] >> i think your suggestion is catching on. the dalai lama the other day said he thought it would be sow absolutely appropriate his successor was a female. getting very interesting. todd, you learned so much and there's so much of what he has done that applies to almost any area, any endeavor, about when

you talk about the principle of the triple bottom line. what is that? >> i think that ted, in this century, is perhaps the template for this motion of ecocapitallism, which is doing business that does no harm and the triple bottom line is -- of it as three stools. one stool is -- has profit as a motivation, of course, if conservation is going to exist on private lands its needs to pay for itself. but another leg on it is carrying for the environment -- caring for the environment, doing no harm and restoring harmed landscapes. the third aspect is a human one and that is you take good square of your employees, you pay them a decent liveable wage, you channel as much business back into local communities from which you're deriving your profits, and ted in the west and

all of his ranches and the west, wherever he operates, he has channeled millions of dollars in commerce back and it trickles in through the local community. ...

>> let's talk about the adults. laura. what did she do? >> they all do philanthropic and environmental common and of them have the -- if ever been in rehab. [laughter] id that is pretty amazing. [laughter] anyway, i am really proud of them. >> piggybacked captain planet, making documentaries , doing environmental films, each one of the children is making a major contribution. >> thankfully. >> some people may not know you were a champion or

reader in prep school and there's a verse you quoted jimmy indications but it is applicable to aspire for this cause. could you give us a little bit? >>. [laughter] this is some lines on courage it goes like this been steps forward horatio the caption of the gate. he said to every man and woman board death come soon or late. how had he died better than fear of falling negative facing paralyzed of the temple of his father's in ashes of his gods. go down with all the speed you make that put you beside me will hold it in play. but now it's the it's a thousand men living stock is

free the they will stand on either hand and a guard at the bridge with me. [applause] >> there are so many causes worthy of attention, what worries you the most? would it you lose the most the about right now? >> the greatest danger reface is from nuclear weapons the sooner we get rid of that before we make a mistake or something goes wrong, the better. second after that that, protection of the environment. particularly getting a handle on goebbels' climate change and stop burning fossil fuels. [applause] >> would you hope the book accomplishes?

>> it makes a lot of manet. [laughter] i am just joking. >> host: beyond realties. >> guest: we're partners i wanted to make a lot of money. 50/50. [laughter] i just hope people enjoy it. [laughter] the. >> key is one hell of a partner to have also. he wrote a foreword to the book in pieces the best that senior citizens who think they can retire from their role of citizenship, they can't. we carried on through our lives. when saying that ted asks is where are the young hero's that inspired him? leave the young people to step up.

we live in a time when people are cynical, our kids are told they're not making a difference, i hope the book aspires the young to get involved, and the old to be engaged and again, by example the notion of ego capitalism, he dismisses the notion ecology in an economy can coexist that it is a false dichotomy and i think by a the practice he has done that moreover. what he does with his international charities is truly path binding with the u.n. foundation id has become a major catalyst to help eradicate polio and that will be done within a few years. you could go down along long laundry list of various that ted has been involved with it without getting too

cornball i really think we sit here among the giant. [applause] >> host: todd, what surprised you the most to work with ted and get to know him that you can share with us? [laughter] >> we have had a lot of great conversations. i think what surprised me is a quick the anecdote we were in mexico of as trying to interview him while he was hunting for the quayle ague we have a different kind of interview that we carry on when ted has an audience he knows how to play toward the crowd. we have had lots of very personal conversations about his life where he has really opened up. the think, led the ted that

they know publicly there is a very deep self reflective person there, it is ironic he created the modern media age it is ironic this notion of him exist but behind-the-scenes, i just watch him channel all this information he is a gracious reader and was surprised me is how well read and informed he is. >> host: it is extraordinary to what to tonight but gorbachev in the film was talking about how we notional you are and how is it spending time out here even just sitting on the porch to be surrounded by this kind of magnificence?

how is it to live with montana such a big part of your life? >> its nice. [laughter] i like it. i just like lo i love the mountains. i could look at them for weeks. >> he will get off the horse and pick up the lead or if there is the obnoxious reid. or a piece of trash. you really are suggesting word ian a guardian. there are so many areas you have literally dominated all of the world to have a sense of what you want your legacy to be? >> it will be whatever it ought to me i of not worried about it but just getting the job done. >> host: but every day ico

worrying about the issues, what can i do now? what drives you on the day-to-day basis? >> i want to do the best job that i can. >> host: but there are so many areas you are still involved deerfield your focus now is on the environmental work? >> guest: a lot of it is because i have done about as much as i can do and the environment to have been there and done that. now i will work on getting rid of nuclear weapons to try to switch away from fossil fuels before it is too late. >> host: tell us before we wrap up, tell everyone what you do with geoffrey sax of

the global status -- a suitability effort. >> guest: he is really doing that i of trying to give him encouragement i am good friends with boone pickens about water to years ago he came out with a program on television whenever he was interviewed peace said we don't have an energy plan. he said it over and over again. 70 years and no energy plan for this country and i thought we have a plan for cnn. to don't have a plan had to get anything done? i thought about it and i said we don't have an energy plan but not for population coming in our lifetime all those hours 75 in here the population has gone from 2 billion people as a complete 5 billion people. that is not sustainable.

obviously. we need a plan for everything. so i suggested to jeffrey that he do it. [laughter] i am a little too tired to take on that project. he thought about it and said he would in he is working on a. some time during the next year there will be a plan for humanity endorsed by the united nations and in fact, it will be there period but jeffrey works for the un. so we will put the plan together that includes over fishing, farming, water population, it he will even have a chapter in their on poverty and health care. the health care project is not just health care in the

united states. he is putting together a global health plan and also putting together a global education plan we might just do everything straightened out because we can do anything we want to every just know what it is we want to do. we have incredible capabilities. [applause] if i can do this sort go from one by sen to look as 65,000 in 20 years we could do anything. [applause] >> host: i will still one of my favorite lines from one of the most prestigious groups we have to stop doing the dumb things and start doing the smart thing is. [laughter] >> a final thoughts?

[laughter] >> again, someone like ted comes along once in our life and follows in the line of the great tycoons at the turn of the last century of the carnegie to bright light failed literacy and rockefeller setting aside grand teton park he and he is in this incredible class. and it is kind of amazing he has adopted montana as his backyard he is a tough act to follow the one thing i'd like to ask you to do, will lead you to a reprise with you were inducted into the national bison hall of fame? >> battle get this teiids very often eats at the

montana and grow. [laughter] survey he was inducted to the bison hall of fame the presidents from mount rushmore were behind him and he stood up in the den in the songs. >> wears a very? you need him up here. there we go. [applause] >> o give me a home where the buffalo roam ♪ ♪ where the deer in the antelope play ♪ ♪ where seldom is heard ♪ a discouraging word ♪ and he