Business leaders put pressure on elected officials, and they should be vying for a worldwide mandate on energy reduction, cleaner building materials, and the adoption of Japanese and European energy standards that are some of the most stringent in the world. Steve Westly, Founder of The Westly Group and former CFO of California, calls for global reform and the adoption of carbon cap and trade, stating that these real solutions to help propel the planet aren't any more difficult to implement or use than EBay.

When orders for Tesla cars outshine orders for the GM Saturn, Steve Westly takes this as a sign that clean technologies are going to help lift America from the recession of 2008/2009. He points to other indicators, such as that abundance of clean tech company IPO's, that will also help add new stems and leaves to the economy. As an aside, he also parallels the difference between US start-ups, enabled by the safety net of a VC-backed ecosystem, and their Chinese counterparts, who are forced to be profitable immediately or shutter.

With the long-term health of the planet at risk and the history of alternative energies in the making, Steve Westly, former CFO for the state of California and founder of VC firm The Westly Group, challenges students and entrepreneurs to leave their hand print on the changing shape of the world. He cites the example of great explorers like Magellan and Columbus who broadly reached beyond boundaries never thought capable of being broken. Dependance on oil has these same challenges. He asks the audience, "What new things are you going to discover?"