Jordan Harris with son Emerson

Jordan Harris, a graduate of EFM Class #31, lived in Mill Valley during his teens and early twenties, before his work in the recording industry took him to Los Angeles and London. When he and his wife had their children, he wanted to return to Mill Valley so that they too could grow up in Marin.

"This area has the best of both worlds, of both nature and culture," says Harris. "This is probably the most progressive part of the country - and there's the climate, and easy access to nature and to a great city nearby for culture."

Harris and his family try to live as green a lifestyle as possible. "We use our feet, and the ferry, and our bicycles," he says. When they do drive, it's in a hybrid Honda Insight. Their home is solar powered and made of all reclaimed materials.

Harris was co-founder and chairman of Virgin Records US. He co-founded the youth political organization Rock the Vote. He has served for a decade on the executive board of directors for Global Green USA, the U.S. affiliate of Mikhail Gorbachev's Green Cross International. (Gorbachev once told him at a dinner, "The wars of the future will be fought over water.")

As a balance to working on so many projects with "big horizons," Harris says, he wanted to learn about local issues, and a close friend who had recently finished the EFM training enthusiastically recommended that he take the 18-week course. He's glad he listened.

"The training was so comprehensive, exploring so many different issues," Harris says. "Many of the people I met through the class were really inspiring."

New York Goes OZO

Harris is now involved in another project with an expansive horizon - and color it green: OZOcar, a New York car service that utilizes a fleet of Toyota Priuses, along with Lexus RX 400h and Toyota Highlander hybrids for times "when something larger is needed." The service was launched 21/2 years ago with 20 Priuses; the fleet has since grown to 100.

"It's the fastest-growing car service in New York City," says Harris, with 600 accounts, mostly big corporate clients like Goldman Sachs and Condé Nast.

The OZOcar idea grew from another of his inspirations, Green Car to the Red Carpet, in which Harris persuaded stars, including Harrison Ford, Robin Williams, Clint Eastwood, and Cameron Diaz, to show up at the Academy Awards gala in hybrid cars rather than stretch limos. The first Green Car to the Red Carpet took place in 2002.

Still actively working on land preservation, currently helping the Nature Conservancy in Hawaii, Griffin says that the best thing he ever did was to buy the option for what was then known as Canyon Ranch along the Bolinas Lagoon in Stinson Beach. Home to egrets and herons, the ranch was slated to be subdivided. Buying what would become the Audubon Canyon Ranch "was the key to stopping the freeway and saving the coast. To do it, I wrote a personal check for $1,000, which was really sticking my neck out. But I'm awfully glad I got that option."

"It was the run-up to the Iraq War," he says, "and in that context it seemed obscene to see stretch limos arriving en masse." The sight of the film stars emerging in all their finery from hybrid and electric cars generated a lot of publicity and awareness of hybrids.

"Popular culture and fashion influence consumers in a big way, " says Harris. "Celebrities can use their influence in a positive way and help make it fashionable to be green." Harris adds that he isn't worried that "eco-chic" will be just a passing fad. "No, it's a necessity, because the reality of the science of climate change won't allow for it to be a fad."

Harris and business partner Roo Rogers have recently launched OZOlife.com, "a daily guide for green living." Harris says, "People want to do the right thing, but knowing what the right thing is can take a lot of research. OZOlife is a great resource to guide people in the right direction."

Past as Guide for the Future

Of EFM, this successful environmental advocate and businessman says, "It's important to know about the legacy of those who have worked so hard before us. It's our responsibility to honor this legacy and continue to protect the open space they saved."

But, he adds, we also need to deal with the social justice issues that spring from "having 80 percent of our county protected open space, which makes the remaining 20 percent so expensive that many people cannot afford to live here."

He sees urban infill, green affordable housing, and good public transportation as ways to shrink our county's large carbon footprint.

"EFM covered all sides of every one of these issues," he says. "The advocacy portion of the training encourages people to use their voice and take part in a way they wouldn't have dreamed of prior to taking the class."