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Arianna Huffington at the Sierra Summit.
Photo by Tim Lesle.

by Eric Wesselman
Plenary Session
Arianna Huffington, Keynote Speaker

Closing the Summit before a packed hall, Arianna Huffington reminded us that we came here to find a new and better way and called on each Summit participant to "look into the mirror and see the leader in the mirror."
 
"The new and better way begins with recognizing that this is a true moment of leadership for all of us."

Referring to politicians, she said, "They are our followers and we are their leaders," calling indifference a weapon of mass destruction.

Echoing a common theme of the summit that we must organize around vision and solutions, not issues and problems, Huffington warned we should stop celebrating insignificant victories because then we settle for the "tyranny of low expectations."
 
"If there is one problem with the environmental movement, it is that we are willing to settle for crumbs. We can demand more because the American public is longing for true leadership and authenticity. Leadership won't come from politicians. It will come from us, the grassroots."

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Huffington called this a "teachable moment" that we should take full advantage of, and it is our responsibility to connect the dots between issues like global warming, over-reliance on fossil fuels, and national security.

"Hurricane Katrina's real name is global warming. It is tragic, but an opportunity to teach the American people. The Bush administration says this is not the time to point fingers, but this is precisely to time to point fingers. What we've learned from CSI and Law and Order is that you don't let the crime scene grow cold, and what happened in New Orleans is a crime scene."

Ultimately, Huffington said, it is up to us to keep hammering away on our visionary message of hope and solutions until something is done.

Between me, and my reflection in the mirror, that's just what I plan to do.

-- 09/11/2005 Sun
1pm