It is important that China stop its over-reliance on municipal debt to finance infrastructure. I take comfort in the fact that China's leaders understand this.

I think all governments engage in intelligence gathering vis-a-vis other governments.

There is a time for weighing evidence and a time for acting. And if there's one thing I've learned throughout my work in finance, government, and conservation, it is to act before problems become too big to manage.

I've long believed the environmental issue is an economic issue and a political issue. The three are entwined. You can't build prosperity on any basis other than a long-term basis, and you can't do that if you don't have a healthy environment.

From the time the kids were in upper grade school and middle school, we took trips over the Christmas break to nature-focused places, such as the Okefenokee Swamp and Cumberland Island in Georgia; Costa Rica; Maho Bay campground in St. John, Virgin Islands; the llanos of Venezuela; the southern coast and highlands of Belize.

Our overriding goal in restructuring our financial architecture should be that taxpayers never again have to save a failing financial institution.

I think all governments engage in intelligence gathering vis-a-vis other governments.

Every global concern - economic, environmental or security-related - can be addressed more effectively when the U.S. and China work together.