Ernest Edward Hardy, a land use economist who served as a senior extension associate for many years in Cornell's Department of Natural Resources, died July 3 at Cayuga Medical Center after a brief illness. He was 87.

Hardy was born June 30, 1923, in Hollis, N.H., where he grew up on the Brookdale Fruit Farm, his family's business. He earned a B.S. (1953), M.S. (1959) and Ph.D. (1969) in agricultural economics, all from Cornell, as well as a diploma in agricultural economics from Oxford University in England in 1956.

His work led to the development of geographic information systems that are used throughout the world today. At Cornell he worked on land use issues and was director of the university's Resource Information Laboratory from 1977 to 1985, when he retired. In 1986 he was a senior consultant for the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C., and from 1987 to 1991 he worked on environmental issues for the World Bank, also in Washington. His work took him to many corners of the world, including, Yemen, Rwanda, El Salvador, Iraq and Indonesia.

After retiring he worked on developing new ways to grow greenhouse tomatoes and volunteered teaching reading at Enfield Elementary School in Ithaca.

He is survived by his wife Jane of Ithaca, two sons and several siblings.

A memorial service will be held Friday, July 9, at 2 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 309 Highland Road in Ithaca. Memorial contributions can be sent to the Ithaca Concert Band, P.O. Box 902, Ithaca, NY 14851, and Cornell Plantations, 1 Plantations Road, Ithaca, NY 14850.