Earth Equity News

John Jay Harris IV, 81, Investor in Environment Dies. Obituary by Sally A. Downey, PhillyInquirer, January 5, 2010. "John Andrews 'Jay' Harris IV, 81, an environmental philanthropist, died last Tuesday at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania of complications from head trauma. He had fallen while walking his dog near his Berwyn home. In the 1960s, Mr. Harris was director of the Citizens Council of Delaware County. ''This was the springboard for his passionate involvement in numerous environmental, population, energy and peace organizations,' said a son, Shepard. He was a futurist and 'a venture capitalist for the environment,' said his other son, Andy. Mr. Harris invested in start-up hybrid and solar car companies, and for 20 years drove an electric car. One charge could get him from Berwyn to Chestnut Hill and back, Andy Harris said. Mr. Harris headed the Changing Horizons Fund, which provided grants to organizations such as the Center for Food Safety and the National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides. He served in leadership positions with the Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania, and Zero Population Growth, and was a founder of the U.S. Association for the Club of Rome, a global think tank." Editor's Note: Jay Harris took issues connected with the climate crisis to heart, and was a huge ongoing supporter of CCC. It was with his initial grant that CCC was launched. He took a lively interest in our work. We will miss him, along with the sage advice and the encouragement he always had to offer.