At Hollywood Goes Green: Ed Begley Jr. hearts the subway

"Every single thing I've done for the environment since 1970 has been good for the environment, and good for my bottom line." That was Living With Ed host and actor Ed Begley, Jr.'s main message in his keynote speech at Hollywood Goes Green today.

Ed's been such a long-time environmentalist that I find his continued enthusiasm and energy both inspiring and energizing -- and also somewhat surprising in its sheer, unceasing optimism. In his talk, he emphasized getting the low-hanging fruit first when it comes to going green. Instead of stressing about things you can't afford (solar panels, for ex) or can't do (go car-free) yet, focus on what you CAN do, Ed said -- whether that's changing a light bulb or buying recycled toilet paper. "All these things can be cheap and easy.... You start there, and you build."

What does that have to do with Hollywood? Ed pointed the industry people to the Environmental Media Association's checklists of guidelines for greening both the entertainment biz office and the production.

Ed told some funny stories about how he bought a very crappy electric car decades ago -- one that topped out at 15 mph and had a 15-mile range. He upgraded to a bike, he joked, which went farther, faster. Showing off his Metro day pass on stage, Ed said he took the subway to the conference at the Hollywood Roosevelt.

I too came here via Metro -- Yay! I took the 720 bus to the 780 -- and got here under an hour without fighting traffic or hunting for parking. Then I hit the registration table where everyone else had parking tickets they wanted validated --

Pictures to come later, because I remembered to bring my camera, but not the cord for downloading. [update: now added, though blurry --]

Photo by Siel

Comments

[Dan W.]

Ed Begley Jr. is a star and a role model.

He doesn't just talk the talk, he walks the walk.

God bless him!

[Siel]

I don't know how he keeps from getting discouraged (considering how long he's been talking about this stuff), but his can-do attitude's really inspiring.