Open for Questions: Energy Security with Secretary Salazar

Mr. Modi: Good evening, folks.
My name is Kalpen Modi, I'm the Youth Liaison here at the White House.
We're joined today by Secretary Salazar for a very special
"Open for Questions" event on energy security.
For folks who are joining online and watching this,
we're joined by a great group of young people here at the White
House in this room.
We'll be taking some questions from them and certainly
questions from you all.
Some of you submitted great questions online already.
For others, if you go to the White House Facebook page and
submit your questions there on the Facebook wall,
I can see them here and we'll answer as many of them as we can.
Secretary, I'll turn it over to you.
Secretary Salazar: Well, thank you very much.
And thank you to all of the young people who are visiting us
here at the EOB in Washington, D.C.
The President last week addressed the nation at
Georgetown in a major energy speech in which he laid out the
energy blueprint for the future.
At the heart of the President's speech to the nation,
he spoke about how we have to produce more and we have to use
less energy in America.
On producing more energy, we need to broaden our energy
portfolio by making sure that what we're doing is developing
oil and gas resources but doing it in a safe and responsible way.
And at the same time while we're developing those resources we
also need to move forward with the clean energy economy which
has been a beacon for this President during his campaign as
well as during the time that he has been President of the United States.
And in that vein he has proposed that 80% of the electricity in
the United States come from clean energy sources by the year 2035.
Also because of the national security and economic security
implications of how we use energy in our nation,
it is important for our country to move forward to capture clean
energy in a very major way for the United States and to reduce
the dependence on foreign oil.
Today we import about 11 million barrels of oil a day --
11 million barrels of oil a day to the United States.
So the President laid out as part of the agenda reducing the
imports of foreign oil by one-third by the year 2025.
So we will reduce our dependence on foreign oil coming in to this
country first by producing more of our own domestic energy
supplies in the right places and in the right time.
We don't believe that you ought to be drilling everywhere or
that drilling everywhere was going to give us the answer to
the energy future of America that we need.
But in addition to that, expanding the portfolio of
energy that we are using including a major enhancement in
the biofuels programs for the country.
Moving forward with electric cars for America with a goal of
having a million all-electric cars on the roads of the United
States by the year 2015.
And moving forward to exploring other clean sources of energy to
power America's economy as we move forward.
We also know that for the longest time the United States
has used more energy than it should be using.
And part of it is that we have not been efficient in how we
have used our energy.
And so through the efforts of the administration over the last
year we are already saving millions of barrels of oil a
year because we now have a standard where our cars are
moving to the point where we will be able to achieve 35 miles
per gallon on average for cars.
And in the summer ahead we'll have rules with respect to
efficiency for trucks and other vehicles that will allow us to
continue moving forward with better efficiency out of the
vehicles that we currently use.
In addition to that, we in the United States have not been very
efficient with respect to how we use energy in our homes and in
our buildings.
And so the President has moved forward with a very ambitious
agenda to make our homes more efficient with weatherization
and with insulation that will make sure that we have more
efficient homes as well as commercial buildings.
When all is said and done, the President's view is that we can
create through innovation and investment and technology in
American ingenuity, a better future for all of America.
And that future has as its keystone the winning of the
future of America really is about how we win the energy
future of America.
I just returned from a three-day trip that took me into Brazil
and into Mexico.
Brazil is a great country that gives us an example of how we
ought to be moving forward with our own energy portfolio.
They as a third world country with 200 million people are
already an energy independent nation.
They have goals that they are achieving where they want to
have 47% of their energy coming from renewable energy resources.
90% of the entire vehicle fleet system within the country of
Brazil -- this country of 200 million people --
90% of all their cars are already flex fuel.
Gasoline is required to have a 25% biofuel mix in it before it
can be sold.
And on an impromptu, unannounced set of visits I made to a number
of gasoline stations in Brazil, I was able to see how every gas
station that you go to has pumps for ethanol, for gasoline,
for different mixes of ethanol and gasoline and for biodiesel.
And so we need to move forward with that kind of energy future
which the President envisions for the United States of America.
And in so doing what we will address is a key point that the
President made and that is that there is no quick fix to the
high price of gas today.
The President recognizes, as does all of his Cabinet,
that there is pain at the pump.
That every time that a person who is filling up their car at
the gas station has to pay $50, $75, $100 for gas, it hurts.
And that means that there may be less money to spend on food or
on other kinds of essentials.
But transportation is essential, so the President recognizes the
pain that the American people are going through.
Recognizes the pain as well for farmers and ranchers who spend
so much of their budget dealing with fuel costs as well as small businesses.
And so the pain is there.
The reality of it is that we cannot wave a magic wand and all
of a sudden fuel prices are going to fall.
We are where we are today because we have had 40 years of
a failed energy policy of the United States.
President Obama from day one has been committed to the new energy
future of America.
In his speech last week in laying out the energy blueprint
was an effort to let the nation know what the roadmap for the
future is for the United States.
He is confident, his team is confident that we'll be able to
get to that energy future for the United States and we'll do
it by making sure that all of the people of the United States
are involved and engaged with us as we move forward on the new
energy technologies of tomorrow.
Mr. Modi: Great.
Thank you, sir.
Online we've got a number of great questions or a bunch of
topics that are sort of trending here some more contentious than
others so I think we should dive right in.
I'll ask you the first question which was actually submitted
right at the top here from Christopher Carroll.
And the question is maybe a nice way to set the tone here.
A lot of folks are wondering, it's clear that a number of
administrations, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, et cetera,
have sought out the challenge of seeking better energy security
and reducing the United States' dependency on oil.
How does this administration intend on dealing with that
challenge with reflection on how and why perhaps other
administrations have failed to do so?
Secretary Salazar: We believe what has happened in the past,
and this has been both republican and democratic
administrations, is that they have essentially lulled
themselves into complacency as the American people have as well
with the rise and fall of the gas prices.
If you have a spike in gas prices,
all of a sudden it's the issue of the day.
And so there's a lot of concern that Congress says we have to
fix this problem now and we have to drive gas prices down today.
But when you look back at the history of different
administrations, Richard Nixon coining the term energy independence.
Jimmy Carter talking about becoming energy independent with
the moral imperative of war.
The days of Ronald Reagan where there was no attention, really,
paid to energy efficiency over renewable energy.
And even during the Clinton Administration we didn't do what
should have been done relative to this new energy future.
In those 40 years we went from importing 30% of our oil to
almost 70% of our oil.
We're back down in part because of the fuel efficiency programs
that we've started where we're now importing just about 50% of our oil.
Now, they failed in the past because they didn't keep a
sustained focused view on the long-term.
And that was a key part of what the President was trying to do
in his speech last week was to say there are no quick fixes,
but we have a blueprint that has a broad portfolio of energy
sources as well as energy efficiency,
as well as innovation initiatives that will get us to
achieve these long-term goals.
So it's not easy for a President of the United States to commit
himself to say we will reduce our imports of foreign oil by one-third.
But this President has done that.
And we believe that we can get it done.
Mr. Modi: Great.
Thank you, sir.
Who's got a question from within the room here?
Go ahead.
Why don't you introduce us, let us know where you're from.
Speaker: Mic?
Mr. Modi: That's right, we have a mic coming around so the folks at
home can hear.
There you go.
Mr. Rust: Hi, my name is Joe Rust.
I'm a freshman at Perdue University.
And agriculture employs over 20% of the American workforce and so
it's a very necessary part of the American economy and security.
And it's been obvious that it's been a very good venue for
renewable energy sources.
What efforts are being done to make sure that we are using
agriculture as a source for energy and a way to keep the
American farmers going?
Secretary Salazar: Joe, it's a very good question and let me say this President
and the administration from day one have seen a key part of our
energy future as growing our way to that energy future,
energy independence.
And it's particularly important because rural America is a place
where rural America can do much better if they're helping us
contribute in a significant way to that energy future.
So the biofuels program, which the President has initiated,
which Secretary Vilsack and the Department of Agriculture has
been working very hard on, contemplates that biofuels will
be a significant part of our energy portfolio for the future.
In the President's statement of last week announced we'll have
four operational advanced biofuels,
bio refineries that we will begin in the next two years.
So we have spent a lot of time working on this.
Part of what we have done as well is that we have moved up
the amount of biofuels that are included now in gasoline mixes
from E-10 up to E-15 which basically means that 15% of the
mixture is essentially coming from biofuels.
So it is a great opportunity for America to grow our way to
energy independence and something the President strongly
believes in.
Mr. Modi: Great.
Thank you, sir.
We've got two questions that are actually very similar here so
I'm going to read them both.
And there are a number of others on a similar topic.
A lot of folks think that we should expand our drilling here
in the United States and so Dee Greenmeyer asks: Why don't we
stop depending on other countries for our oil?
Why can't we drill for our own?
And Barbara Rolfe wants to know, she says,
I think we need to drill for our own oil.
We really need to get the fuel prices down.
Not only am I paying more at the pump,
I'm paying almost double at the grocery store.
So are these things that we're doing and are these viable solutions?
Do they really tackle the problem?
Secretary Salazar: Dee -- who was the second question from?
Mr. Modi: Barbara.
Secretary Salazar: Dee and Barbara.
So Dee and Barbara what I would say you to is the following:
First, we do believe that we should produce more of our
energy here at home and so we are doing that with respect to
opening up areas and supporting a drilling program, for example,
in the Gulf of Mexico where we're issuing a number of
drilling permits to increase the amount of oil that we're
producing on the onshore area where we control about
700 million acres.
We issued 5,000 drilling permits this year.
We expect to issue 7,000 more next year.
So we see oil and gas as part of the energy portfolio,
that's been an unquestioned point of view of the President
from the very beginning.
But if we really are going to grasp the future of energy for
our nation, we need to diversify our energy portfolio.
There's no way that with 2% of the world's reserves of oil that
we're going to solve our energy problems for the future.
And that's why biofuels and other clean energy is very
important to our energy future for the United States.
So drilling is a part of it but it's not the answer and so for
those who have said that "drill, baby, drill,"
is really the answer to our energy challenges,
from our point of view that's not correct.
And in fact, that's part of the reason why past administrations
have failed to get us to the energy independence that we want
and why we became so overdependent on foreign oil
because we just don't have those resources here at home.
Mr. Modi: Great.
Thank you.
Another question from the audience?
Go ahead.
Mr. Olsen: My name is David Olsen.
I'm from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and
a resident of the State of Illinois.
My question was similar to Joe's question on the same topic.
And you've talked a lot about increasing biofuels and then
pain at the pump.
But there is also a lot of concern that by increasing
biofuels we're reducing the amount of products,
agricultural products that go towards food which has led to
increases in prices for food.
So how is the administration dealing with that balance
between producing corn and other products for food and for energy?
Secretary Salazar: You know, it's a very good question, David.
The way in which we are doing it is by recognizing that there are
limitations to what we can do with respect to ethanol which is
corn-based ethanol.
And we know that at some point in time you reach a level where
using corn for ethanol brings up the prices of food in a way that
would be unacceptable and so there's a limit that we have to
impose on how much will actually come from corn ethanol.
And where we really see the future and what is a really
exciting future is to advance biofuels where you can take any
kind of biotic matter, matter, including places where you have
a lot of biomass being created in places like the southeastern
part of the United States, and with wood chips and any kind of
biomass, essentially, be able to convert that biomass over to
cellulosic ethanol.
That's where the future really lies.
And those are the kinds of research and development
programs which we have supported, have initiated,
and frankly have several of those research facilities which
are being built and being brought online in places like Georgia.
So we think the future for biofuels is beyond corn.
It really is dealing with advanced biofuels where we
broaden the portfolio of feed stocks that we currently are
using in the ethanol market.
Mr. Modi: Joe Haas online has a question.
He says, Mr. Secretary, how can an alternative energy
infrastructure be created during these tough economic times?
And his comment is that if we rely on privatization,
we create new monopolies.
Do you want to elaborate on the first part which is basically
given the tough economic times how are these sorts of things incentivized?
Secretary Salazar: You know, Joe, we have to make sure that we have the
distribution capacity.
And there are ways in which we can incentivize that at a very low cost.
And let me just give you a couple of examples.
Brazil, which is a poor nation, it has 200 million people and
last year growing by 7.5% with a huge future,
has 90% of all its vehicles equipped with flex fuel technology.
And that's because it doesn't cost very much at all to put the
flex fuel chip into your carburetor of your car.
And so that then creates, with very low cost,
the opportunity for them to diversify their fuel choice
within the Brazilian economy.
So they have already done that in that very poor country.
In the fuel stations that I visited --
and these were not announced visits,
it just so happened that I wanted to see how Petrobras was
operating in Brazil -- I was amazed how they have pumps that
can give you everything from biodiesel, to ethanol,
to gasoline, to the different fuel mixtures.
We can do that here in this country as well.
So I don't think it's the financial limitations.
I think there are other interests that are brought to
bear that basically kept us from moving forward with creating the
kind of distribution system that is required to have diversity in
the energy sources of the U.S. and I believe that we can do that.
Mr. Modi: Great.
We have another question here --
Secretary Salazar: And let me just add another --
Mr. Modi: Oh, sure.
Secretary Salazar: -- another comment on that, Joe.
I think to not do it is foolhardy economically for us
because right now we have a hundred --
$100 a barrel oil.
We are sending billions and billions of dollars out of the
United States into other countries and if we were able to
keep more of that money here it would create a better economy in
the United States so we'd create economic wealth here in the U.S.
instead of import -- instead of exporting it to other places.
So I think the amount of investment that is necessary is
far outweighed by the benefits ultimately to the United
States' economy.
Mr. Modi: Great.
Thank you.
We've got a couple questions trending.
There's one from Robert Bostick and was seconded by Kyle Lutz.
They want to know -- this is actually --
let me preface this by saying there are a number of trends
here about alternative energies and clean energies,
and this question is: There is more energy in ocean currents
than in any other energy source.
Why are we not investing in it?
Secretary Salazar: We are investing in renewable energies in the offshore.
Probably the greatest potential instead of ocean energy right
now is wind energy off the Atlantic, and in the Gulf,
and even off the Pacific.
So the states along the Atlantic, for example,
have come together under a consortium that we've created
with the governors of those states and what we're doing is
looking at the possibility of standing up offshore wind here
in the United States.
They've done it in the U.K.
They've done it in Norway.
They've done it in Denmark.
And so there is no reason why we can't do it here.
And while we have, now we're creating about 10,000-megawatts
of power, which is a lot of power,
just from wind energy in the last two years all onshore,
the potential is a thousand-fold with respect to what we do in
the Atlantic.
So we have a major initiative with respect to wind on ocean
currents themselves.
We have a lot of research and development that's going on there.
But the technology is not there today for us to be able to say
that we're going to be able to capture wave action and ocean
currents within two, three, four, five years.
We believe we can do it in the oceans on wind and that we can
do that in the next several years.
Mr. Modi: Great.
Thank you.
Do we have another question here?
Over in the back.
Mr. Fisher: My name is Will Fisher, I'm from American University.
Secretary Salazar: First name?
Mr. Fisher: Will Fisher.
Secretary Salazar: Will.
Mr. Fisher: Thank you for having us here, by the way, Mr. Secretary.
Secretary Salazar: Thank you, Will.
Mr. Fisher: My question is about natural gas.
We've seen in the past couple of years some very impressive
increases in shale gas technology that have really
scaled up our domestic sources of natural gas.
So with respect to that, where do you see natural gas in our
future energy mix, specifically the electrical mix since it is
kind of a domestic source for power?
Secretary Salazar: Will, we are working hard to make sure that natural gas is a
significant part of our energy portfolio for the future for a
lot of reasons.
One, it is very abundant in the United States as a domestic
energy source that doesn't have to be imported from anywhere.
Two, it's abundant today because of the technologies that have
been developed with horizontal drilling and other measures that
it is about 25% the cost of oil for the same energy equivalent.
So 25% of the cost of oil.
That's an important statistic to keep in mind.
And so the President supports moving forward with the robust
natural gas industry and supports a conversion of,
for example, long-haul trucks over to using natural gas
because it will lessen the amount of oil that we're
importing from other countries and converting plants which are
not climate friendly now that produce electricity over to
natural gas because it's a lot cleaner as a burning fuel.
So we are moving forward with that agenda.
There is one caution and one caveat which we often talk about
and that's there is concern about what's happening with
hydraulic fracking on natural gas development because in
states like New York and New Jersey there have already been
moratoria that have been put into place because people are
concerned that when you fracture the reservoirs to be able to
bring up the natural gas you're injecting chemicals into the
underground that could cause pollution for the long-term and
harm water quality.
And so we are examining ways in which hydraulic fracking can be
done in a safe way and also examining ways in which the
people in the area or the people in the United States who are
interested in knowing what those chemicals are that are being
injected into the underground will have knowledge of what
those chemicals are.
You know, transparency is a key principal of this administration
and so we will continue to figure out a way of supporting
the natural gas future of America.
But at the same time doing it in a way that's safe and that
people of the United States feel it's safely being produced.
Mr. Modi: We've got two more questions here.
One is from Tom Sadler.
The other one is from Camille Thorndike.
And they're both with regard to public land.
The first is: Secretary Salazar, sportsmen like me are concerned
that large-scale solar development on public lands will
damage the sporting opportunities and wildlife
populations in the west.
Can you help protect our hunting and fishing heritage by ensuring
that the projects are clustered appropriately?
And then Camilla's question which is similar,
Secretary Salazar, how does this administration intend to protect
the ecological and visual integrity of public lands in the
face of mounting pressure for energy exploration?
Secretary Salazar: Those are very, very good questions.
And what we are doing is we have developed a concept that we call
"Smart from the Start."
And smart from the start essentially means that we want
to site solar facilities, as well as wind facilities,
in places where it makes sense.
So you don't want to have, for example,
a large wind farm or a solar farm in the vicinity of a
national park, like Arches National Park in Utah.
And you don't want to have them sighted in places where they are
going to come into conflict with important wildlife habitat.
And so what we are doing is going through on the solar side
a programmatic environmental impact statement that
essentially is looking at the 250 million or so acres that we
have in the public domain under the Bureau of Land Management
and deciding where within those areas it makes the most sense
for us to sight solar energy projects.
I will say that I believe we can do it in a way that doesn't
create conflicts with wildlife and yet preserves the ecological
value of these public lands.
I'm proud of the fact that just in 2010 alone the Department of
Interior, under the President's direction and support,
was able to authorize about 3,700-megawatts of solar energy
power on our public lands.
That's the equivalent amount of generation that would come from
10 to 12 midsize coal-fired power plants.
And it demonstrates another part of the portfolio which is
important to the country that we can capture the power of the sun
to help us power our electric vehicles and to help us power our homes.
Mr. Modi: Great.
We've got enough time for about more round of questions.
So let me take one that came in at the top here.
That's from Lindy Lixter that says,
why don't we increase the use of public transport for
metropolitan areas and why don't we install electric bike
drop-offs in cities instead of using the bus?
Secretary Salazar: We should.
And we in fact are through the President's investments in the
recovery program.
We're doing much more in mass transit than has been done
probably in 100 years here in this country.
So we see mass transit and mass transportation as being a very
important part of the agenda.
And ultimately when you look at bike usage, you know,
it's good for people's health.
It's great for fuel efficiency.
And at the end of the day, it seems to me it will be a very
bright part of our future.
And I think across American cities --
and it's another thing that I think is important to point out,
that we are a laboratory of new ideas through our communities,
throughout our country.
And many communities that I visit now have the kinds of
vehicle rentals for bicycles that essentially allow you to
use bikes in a way that is good for people's health and is good
for America's energy future.
And if I may, since we're running out of time here,
just make one more quick comment.
The America's Great Outdoors Program,
which is the President's conservation initiative,
is very near and dear to my heart,
and we worked on it very hard under the President's leadership.
And you will see a lot more of that coming in the years ahead,
but it will include a new generation of urban parks and
wild lands for America because most of our population now lives
in urban areas.
We'll see a focus on preserving the great rural landscapes from
the crown of the continent, to the Everglades in Florida and
we'll see the attention of the government turned over to
protecting the rivers of America in a very good way.
And the last thing that is really important out of that
Presidential initiative is that we see it as essential to engage
the young people of America in what we do in conservation.
And so in my department alone this year in 2010,
just the last year, we had 21,000 young people who were
working in our department.
And it was important because they helped us do our job at the
Department of Interior and it also taught the next generation
of conservation leaders some of the things that we are doing for
conservation in America.
So, there's a nexus, frankly, between energy,
which I know was the focus of this conversation and what we do
with conservation as well, and so we're trying to bring them
together in a way that fits well.
Mr. Modi: I'm glad you brought that up, sir.
For folks watching at home that want to plug in on this,
roughly about once a week we send out from the White House a
newsletter for young Americans that you can get in your inbox
and we frequently send links over to this initiative,
particularly how it affects young people and how you all can plug in.
So if you'd like to sign up for that,
just go to WhiteHouse.gov/YoungAmericans.
I'll give you that link again when we wrap up,
but you can sign up for that list and get all these links as well.
So one more question from in the room.
Where's a young lady?
We haven't heard from a young lady yet.
Go ahead.
Katie: Hi, my name's Katie.
I'm from American University here in Washington, D.C.
And I'm glad you addressed things like conservation and fracking.
And you've talked a lot about how we're becoming energy
efficient using our own natural gas and drilling onshore here in
the Gulf of Mexico.
I'm just wondering how, what you would say to, say,
environmentalists who are worried about the environmental
costs and effects of continuing to drill in oil here and using
natural gas.
Some would say that the environmental effects of that
outweigh really being energy efficient and energy independent
here in America.
So what would you say to those that are worried about the
environmental effects of continuing to drill for oil and
using natural gas?
Secretary Salazar: Katie, I would say to the environmental organizations with
whom I speak frequently both in my office as well as in some of
their conventions, and that is that we want to move forward to
a clean energy future for the United States of America.
That's where the real game change is.
That's how we're going to win the future for the United States.
But we can't get there overnight.
There have been too many decades, in fact,
probably a century where we have been going in another direction.
So what the President is attempting to do is to change
the direction of the Titanic.
And we are making significant progress.
But you can't do it overnight.
And the consequence of essentially stopping drilling or
stopping the use of coal, for example,
in coal-fired power plants would be to damage our economy to a
point where we can't afford to do that.
And we can't afford to go back to the days of the Great Depression.
And, you know, one of the biggest challenges domestically
which the President and the country have faced have been the
economic challenges of the last two years where we were in an
essential economic meltdown when the President was inaugurated
into office.
The economy seems to be coming out of the ditch.
And we feel good about the indicators of where we're going.
It's going to take a while for us to get out of that ditch and
for us to make a complete U-turn from drilling and other
important energy, part of the energy portfolio that powers our
economy today in our view would be,
would go in the wrong direction.
We're making progress and I think that the important thing
to note is on fuel efficiency and moving in with biofuels and
a full set of other parts of the energy portfolio,
we have already made historic progress in the last two years.
We recognize, obviously, we have a lot more to go and our work
has just begun.
But we're confident about the future.
And believe that in your time you will see an America that is
powered by an energy which is very different than the economy
that I have seen for most of my lifetime.
Mr. Modi: Great question.
Let's wrap this up with a question that I think is
summarized pretty well with all the different trends that we've
seen today.
We've got at ton of people saying that they want more
drilling, that they think we should really open it up a lot
more than the blueprint suggests.
We have other folks who are really critical of why we're
drilling in the first place saying that we should make
stronger investments now.
And this question from Joe Mama --
(laughter)
-- perhaps summarizes both of them.
(laughter)
Which is: Why wait until 2025 to implement our reduction of
dependence on foreign oil?
Why not do it now?
Secretary Salazar: Joe, I think if we could do it now we would do it.
If we could move honestly to a point where we were importing
no oil, we frankly would do it.
But for the lights that are powering this room,
for the gas that is being used in your car or your family's car
or your friends' cars, we need to continue to have that energy
to power our economy and to essentially try to turn the
switch in that dramatic fashion that would dramatically hurt the
standing and power of the United States today.
And that's not what we want to do.
We're confident that we can do this in the right way.
But it's going to take some time.
The President, in his speech at Georgetown on last week,
spoke about how this is a problem which doesn't have a quick fix.
He also said that this is a problem which will not be solely
solved on his watch.
That it's going to have to be continued beyond his Presidency.
And that's because it is such a huge issue.
And what's happened in the past is that every time you have a
gas price hike people get all excited about it and then the
country goes back to sleep.
This time this President with this blueprint intends to make
sure that we have a long-term framework so that we finally
solve the problem and challenge of America's energy future.
Mr. Modi: Thank you, sir.
I wanted to thank folks that are joining us online,
our friends here in the room from universities here in
Washington, D.C. and all through the Midwest,
the Association of Big Ten Schools that have joined us today.
If folks want more information and if you'd like to partner to
continue this conversation, go to
WhiteHouse.gov/YoungAmericans.
You can get information on the initiatives that we discussed
here if you sign up for the newsletter.
And perhaps most importantly you can download a toolkit to host a
roundtable similar to this in your own community,
whether it's a campus, a community center,
a local restaurant or diner, get a group of folks together and go
forward with the conversation.
So, WhiteHouse.gov/YoungAmericans,
if you'd like to partner.
And, of course, all the information about the
President's policies are at WhiteHouse.gov.
So thank you all so much for joining us.
Until next time, Secretary Salazar,
thank you so much for coming in.
Secretary Salazar: Thank you for your leadership.
And thank you to all the young people who joined us here as
well as all the young people who are online.
It makes me proud and it inspires me every day,
probably more so than anything you ever know when you work on
tough issues, but our inspiration really comes from
your generation.
Thank you.