Denis Hayes, founder of the original Earth Day, gave a talk on how to make the environment a key issue in the 2008 Presidential and Congressional elections. An environmental lawyer by training and an expert in clean technology, Mr. Hayes was the national coordinator for the original Earth Day in 1970, the event widely credited with launching the modern American environmental movement. At age 35 he was appointed by President Carter as Director of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. His influence has been widely recognized. Time magazine selected Mr. Hayes as one of its "Heroes of the Planet," Look magazine named him one of the 100 most influential Americans of the 20th Century, and the National Audubon Society included him in its 100 Environmental Heroes of the 20th Century. Hayes has served as a trustee or director of Stanford University, Greenpeace USA, the World Resources Institute, the American Solar Energy Society, the Federation of American Scientists, the Energy Foundation, the League of Conservation Voters, National Programming Council for Public Television, and CERES. Today, Mr. Hayes is President and CEO of the Bullitt Foundation, a $100 million environmental foundation located in Seattle. He continues as Chairman of the Earth Day Network.

Mr. Hayes spoke as part of a series of events organized by FES students that will foster dialogue and provide tools to promote the environment as an issue in national politics.