Soundbites: Inverview With…
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| John D. | "We're talking with Ed Begley" |
| Ed: | Yes, Ed Begley and I'm very happy to be on with you. |
| John D. | "We're delighted to have you obviously and are very interested in what you have to say about what living green means to you?" |
| Ed: | "Ya know, I started in 1970 with the first Earth Day and I started, I think the right way, it certainly proved to be the right way, what I didn't do is as important as what I did do. What I did not do is go broke buying 1970 solar panels that were super expensive, I would have gone into debt, and had a real problem. What I did do is all the cheap and easy stuff I could afford, I started recycling, I started composting, I bought a very in expensive electric vehicle. I actually bought one in 1970. When I say an electric vehicle I'm being quite grand, it was more a golf cart with a windshield wiper and a horn, but it got me around. It was $950.00 and I learned quickly that it was much cheaper fuel than it was to buy 1970 gasoline and much, much cheaper to maintain. There is a no tune-up, or oil change, or fan belt or radiator flush….it was very inexpensive car to operate, so I liked it. And I saved money and kept doing more and kept moving up the ladder and many years later I could afford those solar panels, but I started small and built and that's the key to doing these green things." |
| John D. | "Why is it so personal to you?' |
| Ed: | "It is for me cause I grew up in smoggy L.A. Ya know I lived 20-years in that smog in the 50's and 60's, by 1970 it had not gotten much better, had not gotten better at all, it only got worse and so they had a thing called 'Earth Day' in 1970 and so I got involved and started doing all these things that people were talking about then, recycling and all this stuff that was kind of wacky back then, and I did it and what I really liked about it, cause I did it in the right order, doing the cheap and easy first is that I saved money. This green stuff is good for the other green stuff in my pocket that stuff called money and so I stayed with it and now I could retire, not because I've been a leading man in movies or TV shows, I never have, I'm a supporting actor, but I can retire right now because I made all these green choices that make my cost of living super, super low." |
| John D. | "How do you think the auto industry is doing when it comes to fitting in the Living Green." |
| Ed: | They're doing a very good job specifically at Ford, I happen to be a big fan of William Clay Ford and Alan Mullaly and everybody there at Ford that's trying to do things not just at the tailpipe, that's very important to me , cause that's how we clean up the smog in L.A. with tailpipes and other things, but also They're doing it in the manufacturing process. What is the full carbon footprint of how you make the car, what kind of materials are you making them out of, can you make some things out of soy foam, can you make them out of wheat straw, can you make them out of dandelion roots instead of rubber….well it turns out you can and they're doing that at Ford, so they're looking at the whole life cycle, how they're managing water, how much water are they using, what are they doing with the water on sight, ya know that would ordinarily be urban runoff, and very dirty, what they're doing with their waste water. Water is a big thing for Ford, the full carbon footprint is a big thing and of course what's coming out of the tailpipe is very important to them too." |
| John D. | "It sounds like you're really excited about Ford, genuinely." |
| Ed: |
"I really am. Because I started to hear some of the things William Clay Ford said years ago and I went, Wow…does he really mean all that. Then I started to see some of the substance coming out of the pipeline there and I got to tour many of the facilities here in Dearborn and see that they're really doing it with the soy materials and different materials to make the car and there is really a long history of that. Ya know, Henry Ford used to save the small wooden pallet that the engine block came on and he would use that to make, for floor boards to make the original Model-T. So there is a long history of doing this at Ford and they have returned that kind of wonderful thinking and I think it's avery good idea and I'm very much in support of them and everything that they are doing. |
| John D. | "How would grade the efforts of Ford to Green the "Blue Oval?" |
| Ed: |
"I'd rate it very, very high, ya know, like all of us I have a ways to go and Ford has a ways to go, but they're moving at a nice clip, doing a lot of things of substance and so I think they're right on a schedule in doing the stuff that I hoped they would do, years after I heard those first wonderful comments from William Clay Ford, they're doing it right now and I'm very proud at the pace at which they're doing it." |
| John D. | "And I heard you saying some of the things that were pretty important when talking to some of the other reporters, giving them some very succinct ways of how we can start living greener, would you repeat that for us.?" |
| Ed: |
"Yea, There is a lot that we can do besides buying a green vehicle, that's important, but that's higher up on the tree then the low hanging fruit of the cheap and easy stuff we can do right away, and I hope people do that, so they save the money so we can afford a better car, what do I mean by that, I'm talking about putting up weather stripping around your doors and windows, you get a lot of money back very quickly with that. Putting up an energy saving thermostat and programming it for wake, sleep and return modes to make themost out of that wonderful piece of equipment. Put up energy efficient light bulbs all around your house, payback very quickly in billing cycle or two from that. Bike riding when weather and fitness permit, public transportation if it's available near you, home gardening, then God willing, you can buy some big ticket items like a green car." |
| John D. | "Ok, Is there anything you'd like to say that I didn't ask about." |
| Ed: |
"No, just everybody do what you can and there is a lot we can do. And live simply, so others can simply live." |
