Radio, newspapers, they were normal parts of my life. In those days, you had to go somewhere to watch television and leave something to see it.

In 1973, I was shown a graphic of how dependent the United States was on nonrenewable resources like oil and coal and that little was being done to change that. It seemed irrefutable that we needed a change in direction or we'd be paying a huge price down the road. That's when I made a commitment to become a political activist.

If you could ever do a project that really has magic in it, and justifiable magic, you should do it.

When I was young, I said to myself, "You've got to make the most of your life." It's all about taking risks. Push yourself to do as much exploration as possible. Find yourself. Because sometimes we think we've found ourselves, but it's only part of ourselves we've found. We haven't pushed ourselves far out there where we make mistakes and things don't work out, but at least we've discovered something. I felt that's what my life had to be.

I didn't think about politics until I came to Europe.

I used to feel competitive about a career, but now the only things I'm really passionate about are my family, the environment and Indians.

San Franciscans are very proud of their city, and they should be. It’s the most beautiful place in the world.