Eleven Voluntary Initiatives
by Ted Turner
1. I promise to care for Planet Earth and all living things thereon, especially my fellow human beings.
2. I promise to treat all persons everywhere with dignity, respect, and friendliness.
3. I promise to have no more than one or two children.
4. I promise to use my best efforts to help save what is left of our natural world in its undisturbed state, and to restore degraded areas.
5. I promise to use as little of our nonrenewable resources as possible.
6. I promise to minimize my use of toxic chemicals, pesticides, and other poisons, and to encourage others to do the same.
7. I promise to contribute to those less fortunate, to help them become self-sufficient and enjoy the benefits of a decent life including clean air and water, adequate food, health care, housing, education, and individual rights.
8. I reject the use of force, in particular military force, and I support the United Nations arbitration of international disputes.
9. I support the total elimination of all nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, and ultimately the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction.
10. I support the United Nations and its efforts to improve the condition of the planet.
11. I support renewable energy and feel we should move rapidly to contain greenhouse gases.
T
his book wouldn’t have happened without a lot of help from many people. I thank Mort Janklow, my agent, for his enthusiastic support and for introducing me to a great team at Hachette Book Group and Grand Central Publishing. Among others there, I thank David Young, Jamie Raab, and Rick Wolff for everything they contributed to making this book the best it could be. I also appreciate the ongoing support of my two right hands—Debbie Masterson and Taylor Glover—for their friendship, support, and everything they do to keep me on track on a daily basis. My friend Elizabeth Dewberry also lent her literary expertise to provide me with tremendous help when it came to reviewing draft manuscripts. I appreciate the contributions of everyone who took the time to share their own “Ted Stories” with us, and, last but not least, I thank Bill Burke for all his hard work and dedication to this project.
Except as noted below, all photographs are from the Turner family collection.
First insert:
Page 2, bottom, courtesy of McCallie School. Page 3, top, courtesy of McCallie School. Page 4, center, photographer unknown. Page 5, center, photographer unknown; bottom, courtesy of Walter Victor. Page 6, top and bottom, courtesy of Walter Victor. Page 7, center, courtesy of Chris Cunningham; bottom, courtesy of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Page 8, top, ©
Dan Nerney;
center two, photographers unknown; bottom, courtesy of Cotten Alston.
Second insert:
Page 1, top, photographer unknown; bottom,
Photograph © Liz Wickersham, used with permission.
Page 2, top and center, photographers unknown; bottom,
Leigh Wiener.
Page 3, bottom,
Reprinted through the courtesy of the Editors of TIME Magazine © 2008 Time Inc.
Page 4, bottom, courtesy of Janice Crystal. Page 5, top, courtesy of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.; center, photographer unknown; bottom, courtesy of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Page 6, top, courtesy of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Page 7, top, courtesy of United Nations Foundation; center, courtesy of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.; bottom, courtesy of Ted’s Montana Grill. Page 8, top and center, courtesy of Shearon Glover; bottom,
DenverBryan.com.