Wealthy Environmentalists
Rich people can be heroes too. In a time when the federal government’s support for the environment is contracting, let’s recognize some wealthy people who admirably step up to their responsibilities as crew members of Spaceship Earth.
Jack Lazar
Jack Lazar with his wife Helen founded Kimberly Knitware in 1946 (she was the clothing designer) which was acquired by General Mills in 1972. He died in 1990 at the age of 79. General Mills shut down the knit ware operation in 1979, but Jack’s legacy lives on.[1] (Joan Cook, New York Times, January 13, 1990, Sect 1, 33.) Jack founded the Lazar Foundation in 1959. It is now “dedicated to funding innovative and strategic projects that protect the environment in the Pacific Northwest.” The Foundation donates $700,000 to $800,000 every year. Both regional and national organizations can meet the strategic criteria for funding. Among the 40 grants made in 2024:
$45,000 for Piedmont Environmental Council to demonstrate agrivoltaics and sustainable energy practices for data centers;
$45,000 for the Southern Environmental Law Center for “leadership in Virginia with national impact”; and
$10,000 to $25,000 grants for twenty five Pacific Northwest environmental non-profits, including Cascadia Wild, North Coast Land Conservancy, and Sustainable Northwest.
Jack’s son and daughter, William Lazar and Jeanne Morency, now are trustees.
Gordon and Betty Moore
Gordon Moore was co-founder of Intel. He helped establish the technology to make integrated circuit chips and proposed “Moore’s Law” (micro chip capacity doubles every two years). He died at the age of 94 in Hawaii.
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation has Environmental Conservation as one of its three areas of focus. Total number of grants: 1,714; cumulative grant amounts $2.27 billion.
A grant for $854,000 to the University of California Santa Barbara focused on managing runoff from storms to recharge groundwater. The 2017-2018 effort linked “the infiltration of surface water into the ground with improvements in water quality.”
Since 2001 the Amazon Rainforest Initiative has “helped conserve over 400 million hectares in the Amazon — an area more than 10 times the size of California.” That’s 65 percent of the original forest! “[M]ost of our grants have supported work focused on the creation and effective management of Indigenous lands and protected areas, with supporting strategies centered on capacity building, science and public policy.” So far the foundation has invested $500 million. The initiative is authorized through 2031.
Yvon Chouinard
During his younger years Yvon Chouinard was a pioneering rock climber and mountaineer. He made mountaineering equipment in the 1960’s and 1970’s. (I still have a couple Chouinard pitons made before being phased out because they eroded cracks in the rock.) Then he founded Patagonia, a hugely successful outdoor clothing business. At Chiouinard’s insistence, Patagonia is now uniquely oriented to sustainability. “The Earth is now our only stakeholder.”
Since 2022, 98% of Patagonia’s post operation and development profits go to the Holdfast Collective which has funded more than 70 environmental projects and advocacy campaigns.
In 2024 Patagonia (through the Holdfast Collective) contributed $1 million to the Rodale Institute’s efforts to further develop the Regenerative Organic Certification program. This initiative will focus on crop selection and market coordination in and near Ventura County California.
Also in 2024, $5.2 million went to the Nature Conservancy to secure 8000 acres of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta in Alabama. (The total cost of the project was over $18 million.) According to The Nature Conservancy, The Land Between the (Alabama and Tombigbee) Rivers has the greatest number of freshwater species in the country.
In 2023 Patagonia contributed $4.6 million to help create a wild-river national park along the Vjosa River in Albania. Running 168 miles from the Pindus Mountains in Greece to the Adriatic Sea, the Vjosa is the last free-flowing river in Europe – and a major eco-tourism opportunity.
Gregory Carr
Gregory Carr amassed his fortune selling voice mail systems to telephone companies.
Gorongosa National Park, in Mozambique, had been destroyed by 16 years of civil war when Greg first visited in 2004. It was a mosquito-infested wasteland, but he fell in love with the place anyway. In 2007 he agreed with Mozambique’s government to co-manage the park for 20 years (later extended by both parties to 2043). Over time Greg has committed roughly $100 million. Other donors have also been inspired by this commitment.
One area of focus is farming and farmer ownership in the surrounding buffer zones. That has been key to reducing poaching and rebuilding the herds of wildlife. Add to that attention to schools, rangers, importing previously native species, and eco-tourism. A success indicator: The number of water buffalo in the park have increased from 56 in 2006 to 1400 in 2023.
At this point Greg visits Mozambique about once a month.
Dan and Pauline Lutkenhouse
Dan Lutkenhouse, Sr. sold his trucking business in California and moved to Hawai’i. There they bought 17 acres on the Big Island. Dan’s wife Pauline packed lunches so he and his assistant could hack trails in the jungle. The Hawai’i Tropical Botanical Garden (HTBG) opened in 1984. For nearly two decades, Dan supplemented the native collection with tropical and subtropical species from around the world. With some 2500 species, the Garden (now expanded to 100 acres) is a living seed bank.
During my recent visit to The Big Island, my son and I discovered the HTBG. A steep walk takes you from the entrance to Onomea bay. Along the way I witnessed a seemingly endless diversity of orchids, up from four that are native to Hawai’i.
Dan died in 2007 and Pauline died in 2017. Their children, Dan Lutkenhouse, Jr. and Debi Lutkenhouse-Frost, took over operation of Dan’s legacy under the guidance of a board of directors. They are creating a “hub for sustainability, education, and climate change.”
Tom Steyer and Kit Taylor
In 2009 Stanford University announced the creation of the TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy. A $40 million endowment from Tom Steyer and his wife Kit Taylor made this possible. Tom made his fortune as an investor and hedge-fund manager. Rather than buying a building, this gift helps professors and students move quickly from science to real-world application. Projects include:
Demonstrating a full-scale efficient wastewater-to-drinking water treatment plant;
Commercializing a low-drag system for long-haul trucking; and
Developing a less volatile battery electrolyte. This allows lithium-ion batteries to have greater energy density – think greater range in an electric car – while being safer.
Conclusion
Thank you to those who dedicate their assets to benefit Spaceship Earth. Some of you give far more than money. And thank you to those who ensure each legacy endures. Instrumentl identifies over 35,000 foundations that make environmental grants. This is a reservoir of hope during difficult times.
Caution. Naomi Klein, in This Changes Everything, warns us that green philanthropy may be skewed by the capitalism that created the wealth in the first place. We cannot rely on wealth to change the system.
Bio:
Jon Biemer, P.E. is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and a registered Professional Mechanical Engineer in California. Portions of this article were adapted from Our Environmental Handprints: Recover the Land, Reverse Global Warming, Reclaim the Future. Jon is also author of Our Journey to Sustainability: How Everyday Heroes Make a Difference.
[1] Joan Cook, New York Times, January 13, 1990, Sect 1, 33.