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In Hollywood, green is “in.” But one actor
reduced his footprint long before it was
considered cool. Ed Begley, Jr. has been
a customer of Real Goods and a friend of
founder and president, John Schaeffer, for
25 years and served on the board of the
Solar Living Institute for 10 years.
“After 38 years of [living green], I don’t
really think about it,” says Begley. “Things
go in the recycling bin while I’m talking on
the phone.”
Begley has been acting for decades, but
his current reality show “Living with Ed”
is most indicative of the way he lives off
screen. Begley and his wife Rachelle cohost
the HGTV series, which exemplifies
how real families can stay environmentally
ethical with compromise — and humor. “I only use about $300 in annual grid
power while driving an electric car
10,000 miles a year and running a
house for three people.” –Ed Begley, Jr.
“She [Rachelle] says ‘I don’t like this
old couch or I hate the drought-tolerant
plants,’” laughs Begley. “Basically, she
comes to me and I concede.”
But that doesn’t stop Begley from pushing
an ecological agenda at his surprisingly
small home. Built in 1936, with just two
bedrooms and a bath and a half, the now solar-
powered abode is, well … cozy.
“I lived in a house this size growing
up. At one point I lived in a larger house,
but I didn’t feel comfortable,” Begley says.
“We’re considering an improvement and
we’re going to compromise, but we will
never go for mansion-ization.”
Begley’s current solar system consists
of two tied arrays — on top of both the
garage and the house — with 117 small
panels that he’s added and replaced as
needed since the installation of the original
system in 1990. A new wife with “a blow
dryer and curlers,” and later a baby, have
required numerous upgrades.
“We’re not quite off the grid, but I only
use about $300 in annual grid power while
driving an electric car 10,000 miles a year
and running a house for three people,” says
Begley.
For off -peak power, Begley buys green
power from a co-op wind farm on which
he’s owned a turbine since 1985. “When
the earthquakes hit, people want to come
to our house,” he says.
Very much that guy next door, what
Begley stands for most poignantly is that
you don’t have to be a Hollywood star
to be green. “Go for the cheap and easy
stuff — weather stripping, energy-effi cient
lighting, public transportation, home
gardening,” he says. “It’s dirt cheap. Start
there and build.”
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