Denis Hayes
Encyclopedia
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
and proponent of solar power
Solar power
Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available...
. He rose to prominence in 1970 as the coordinator for the first Earth Day
Earth Day
Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. The name and concept of Earth Day was allegedly pioneered by John McConnell in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. The first Proclamation of Earth Day was by San Francisco, the...
.
Hayes founded the Earth Day Network and expanded it to more than 180 nations. During the Carter Administration, Hayes became head of the Solar Energy Research Institute (now known as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory , located in Golden, Colorado, is the United States' primary laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is a government-owned, contractor-operated facility; it is funded through...
), but left this position when the Reagan administration cut funding for the program. Since 1992, Hayes has been president of the Bullitt Foundation
Bullitt Foundation
The Bullitt Foundation is a foundation established in 1952 by Dorothy S. Bullitt, a prominent Seattle businesswoman and philanthropist who founded King Broadcasting Company in Seattle...
in Washington and continues to be a leader in environmental and energy policy.
Hayes has received the national Jefferson Awards Medal for Outstanding Public Service as well as many other awards. Time Magazine named him as “Hero of the Planet” in 1999.
Early life and education
Denis Hayes was born in Wisconsin in 1944, but mainly raised in the small town of Camas, Washington, where in 2007 Hayes Freedom High School was named in his honor. His experiences growing up in the Pacific Northwest instilled a lifelong love of nature.Hayes received his undergraduate degree in history from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, where he was president of the student body and an activist against the Vietnam War. During those years, he spent significant time backpacking to remote corners of the world. Hayes later enrolled at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Earth Day
He left Harvard after being selected by Senator Gaylord Nelson to organize the first Earth Day. The first Earth Day (April 22, 1970) had participants and celebrants in two thousand colleges and universities, about ten thousand primary and secondary schools, and hundreds of communities. It is believed that some 20 million demonstrators participated. In 2009, the story of Earth Day was told in the film Earth DaysEarth Days
Earth Days is a 2009 documentary film about the start of the environmental movement in the United States. It was directed by Robert Stone and is distributed by Zeitgeist Films while in theaters. Earth Days premiered on United States television April 19...
which closed that year's Sundance Film Festival.
Following the success of the first Earth Day, Hayes founded the Earth Day Network and served as international chairman for Earth Day's anniversaries in 1990 and 2000. Internationally, he is recognized for expanding the Earth Day Network to more than 180 nations. It is now the world’s most widely observed secular holiday. Hayes continues to chair the board of the international Earth Day Network and is the Chair of the Earth Day 2010 Global Advisory Committee.
Career
During the Carter Administration, Hayes became head of the Solar Energy Research Institute (now known as the National Renewable Energy LaboratoryNational Renewable Energy Laboratory
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory , located in Golden, Colorado, is the United States' primary laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is a government-owned, contractor-operated facility; it is funded through...
), but left this position when the Reagan administration cut funding for the program. Hayes went back to school and completed a Juris Doctor degree at Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School is a graduate school at Stanford University located in the area known as the Silicon Valley, near Palo Alto, California in the United States. The Law School was established in 1893 when former President Benjamin Harrison joined the faculty as the first professor of law...
, and went on to become an adjunct professor of engineering in that university and litigator with law firm Cooley Godward.
Since 1992, Hayes has been president of the Bullitt Foundation
Bullitt Foundation
The Bullitt Foundation is a foundation established in 1952 by Dorothy S. Bullitt, a prominent Seattle businesswoman and philanthropist who founded King Broadcasting Company in Seattle...
in Seattle, Washington and continues to be a leader in environmental and energy policy. By mobilizing the resources of The Bullitt Foundation, Hayes intends to make the Pacific Northwest the best-educated, most environmentally aware, most progressive corner of America—a global model for sustainable development. Also in Seattle are Hayes' wife, Gail Boyer Hayes (daughter of Paul D. Boyer
Paul D. Boyer
- External links :* , from the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, United States Department of Energy* * *...
), and daughter, Lisa A. Hayes (a lawyer defending the Northshore United Church of Christ regarding Tent City 4 (King County, Washington)
Tent City 4 (King County, Washington)
Tent City 4 is a homeless encampment of up to 100 persons operated by homeless residents and sponsored by 501 organizations Seattle Housing and Resources Effort and Women's Housing Equality and Enhancement League . The camp was created in May 2004 and limits itself to places of worship in eastern...
.
Over Hayes' career, he has been a visiting scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center, a senior fellow at the Worldwatch Institute, an adjunct professor of engineering at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, a Silicon Valley lawyer, and author. He has served on dozens of governing boards, including those of Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, the World Resources Institute
World Resources Institute
The World Resources Institute is an environmental think tank founded in 1982 based in Washington, D.C. in the United States.WRI is an independent, non-partisan and nonprofit organization with a staff of more than 100 scientists, economists, policy experts, business analysts, statistical analysts,...
, the Federation of American Scientists
Federation of American Scientists
The Federation of American Scientists is a nonpartisan, 501 organization intent on using science and scientific analysis to attempt make the world more secure. FAS was founded in 1945 by scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project to develop the first atomic bombs...
, The Energy Foundation, Children Now, the National Programming Council for Public Television, the American Solar Energy Society
American Solar Energy Society
The American Solar Energy Society is an association of solar professionals and advocates in the United States. Founded in 1954, ASES is dedicated to inspiring an era of energy innovation and speeding the transition toward a sustainable energy economy...
, Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
, CERES
CERES
CERES may refer to:* California Environmental Resources Evaluation System * Centre for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies of the University of Toronto...
, and the Environmental Grantmakers Association.
Awards
Hayes has received the national Jefferson Awards Medal for Outstanding Public Service as well as the highest awards bestowed by the Sierra ClubSierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
, The Humane Society of the United States, the National Wildlife Federation
National Wildlife Federation
The National Wildlife Federation is the United States' largest private, nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization, with over four million members and supporters, and 48 state and territorial affiliated organizations...
, the Natural Resources Council of America, the Global Environmental Facility of the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-66165788.html, the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility is a coalition of 275 faith-based institutional investors. Founded in 1973, the organization advocates for corporate social responsibility and files shareholder resolutions and engages in dialogue with corporate management on issues such as global...
, and the American Solar Energy Society
American Solar Energy Society
The American Solar Energy Society is an association of solar professionals and advocates in the United States. Founded in 1954, ASES is dedicated to inspiring an era of energy innovation and speeding the transition toward a sustainable energy economy...
. Time Magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
has named him as “Hero of the Planet.”
External links
- Camas School District and Hayes Freedom High School
- Which modern enviro concepts are throwbacks to the past? Four experts discuss the technologies, laws, and states of mind that have their roots in the first wave of the environmental movement. Interview in Seed (magazine)Seed (magazine)Seed is an online science magazine published by Seed Media Group. The magazine looks at big ideas in science, important issues at the intersection of science and society, and the people driving global science culture...
2009.