On Oprah Today... - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

Matt Herring · 04-29-2009, 04:58 PM

Not that I watch Oprah often...if ever...but...

Today Ed Begley Jr. is on the show detailing his "green" eco-friendly So Cal home...thought it might be a good watch for here...

And...if Ed Begley's house doesn't grab your attention...

The Bunny Ranch Brothel is also being highlighted on today's show...enjoy!

SVOboy · 04-29-2009, 05:37 PM

Is Oprah twittering in all caps again?

Matt Herring · 04-29-2009, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SVOboy

Is Oprah twittering in all caps again?

Thankfully I do not know the answer to your question...I only follow Mark Cuban, Shaq, Paul Pierce and Lance Armstrong on twitter.

I had to run out of the house so I dvr'd the Ed Begley segment...will watch in a bit it and see what he's up to.

Matt Herring · 04-30-2009, 12:35 PM

Synopsis of Ed Begley Jr. on Oprah...

His SoCal home nearly has the entire roof covered with solar panels. Currently, he stated he's only paying about $100 a YEAR for electric (and that includes charging his EV car) and that he's 90% off the grid right now. He is adding solar panels to the roof of his garage right now and will be 100% off the electric grid at that point.

I didn't follow him too much on this but he also stated he's about 60% off the natural gas pipeline as well.

There was video of him driving his Rav 4 EV to the Oscars all dressed up with his wife...classic!

He has his own gardens where he states he grows all of his own vegetables and fruit...uses rain water barrels to saturate the garden. He also has a gray water recapture system in his home.

Pretty cool feature on him during the show...he started with what he called "the cheap and easy" mods to his house back in the 1970's and when he was able to afford more costly endeavors he kept upgrading to the point he's at now.

UfoTofU · 04-30-2009, 01:53 PM

Green is the new black

SVOboy · 04-30-2009, 02:09 PM

I've always wanted to do rainwater capture for watering things. Maybe one of these days I will get around to it.

Matt Herring · 04-30-2009, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SVOboy

I've always wanted to do rainwater capture for watering things. Maybe one of these days I will get around to it.

Check with your local town government about getting a rain water recapture barrel. Around here, some towns have contracts with a rain water barrel company and there are deep discounts for the first so many sold in the town. After the initial discount there is still a discount through the town to get one.

Last week there was a "businesses booming in a struggling economy article" in the paper and one of them was a rain water recapture barrel producer...timely!