Ambassador, Secretary Clinton, thank you.
This is quite a gathering! Thank you all so much for sharing your time with me this evening. I know how busy you all are, especially at this time of year.
I'm going to be brief because, as you all know, I'm pretty exercised to put it mildly about the plight of some of the world's most iconic species. These species are being illegally butchered in the name of trinkets and medicine. It's easy to blame others for the problem demand in South East Asia, not enough protection on the ground, and so on. But, if I may say, we could start with looking closer to home. Our own nations still have thriving black markets in these products, and we have to raise the game at home as well as abroad.
But it's not all doom and gloom. You’re the lights at the end of the tunnel. What all of us in this room represent, and tens of thousands of people out there, is solid purpose a determination not to let our generation be the one that let this catastrophe occur. Time is running out, but this room reminds us that support is not running out. We can be optimistic.
Thank you, all of you, for letting me join you on this journey. I hope you have a very nice evening.
I'm off to shoot some hoops now, or whatever it is you Americans say.
