Using a combination of humor and anecdotes, Ed Begley Jr. inspired a crowd of nearly 70 at the quarterly Community Environmental Council Partnership Council Breakfast last week at the Santa Barbara Club. A leader in the environmental movement since 1970, the actor and activist focused on the roles of economics, human health and national security in convincing people to clean up the environment.
Inspired by his father, someone Begley calls “a conservative who liked to conserve,” Begley grew up in a household where conservation and reuse were common practice: foil was reused and lights were always turned off when not in use. The family’s lifestyle stemmed from the Depression-era sentiment of “waste not, want not” rather than a desire to save the environment. However, these habits set the stage for the younger Begley to become a pioneer role model for an eco-friendly life.
Begley began what we would call “environmental practices” as a young man in 1969, just before the first Earth Day. His first actions were those that he could afford on an extremely limited budget: bicycling and using a rain barrel to harvest water. These early measures saved him money that he reinvested in other green strategies. After 15 years of small steps, Begley saved enough to purchase a solar thermal water heater. With the dollars saved in avoided water heating costs, Begley invested in a wind turbine that runs to this day and allows him to be carbon negative, while helping to produce locally sourced energy for several homes and businesses.
The toughest choice Begley has ever made? In 1989 he decided to stop purchasing gasoline from the pump (recognizing that many of our products are created with or transported by petroleum products). He spent years biking and busing around Los Angeles, not an alternative commuter’s paradise. Buses often ran late, if at all, and bike paths were minimal at best. But Begley called it a “gift from God” because it caused his type-A personality to go into mandatory slow down. Biking around Los Angeles will get you nowhere fast, but it will get you in great physical shape — another benefit cited by Begley.
The easiest choice? Conservation. Conserving energy costs much less than creating energy, and with rebates offered by state and federal governments, practices like insulation, energy-efficient windows and duct sealing are within everyone’s reach. The Begley family was even able to decrease its energy bills by almost half after a recent energy audit revealed some much needed improvements.
Begley encouraged the Santa Barbara Club audience to start with the Community Environmental Council’s Get Energized! pledge and to use it as a guide book on how to save money and save energy in their own lives.
In the end his message was a practical one: Act today, do the cheap and easy, strive to do one more thing. The value of our natural resources like trees is not that they just exist, but that they help us clean the air, provide habitat, and present opportunities for recreation and tourism. Begley also reminded the audience that the “economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment” and not the other way around.
— Kathi Brennan King is the Community Environmental Council’s donor relations program manager.