November/December 2008 Issue

Ecogeek Deathmatch: Ed Begley Jr. v. Bill Nye, Science Guy

Which Hollywood do-gooder has the greener crib? A no-holds-barred fight to the furnished.

Ed Begley Jr.’s solar-powered, rainwater-recycling house was the greenest in his Studio City neighborhood—until his friend Bill Nye, the erstwhile science guy, vowed to outdo him. A rundown of the competition:

Ed Begley, Jr. Bill Nye
Bill Nye Ed Begley, Jr.

Rainwater Collection Barrels

WHAT:
Use water for plants.

Nye: Ed’s barrels look funny; they’re big and red. Mine match my house.

I’ll believe it when I see it. No, wait. I’ll believe it when I don’t see it.

Begley: I’m going to get an underground cistern. It’ll be totally invisible.

Blue-Jean Insulation

WHAT:
Recycled denim treated with boric acid is safer than fiberglass.
 

Begley: I had denim first.

Windows 2.0

WHAT:
Double panes keep houses warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Nye: The guy who did my windows told me Ed hadn’t done all his windows. I did them all.

Begley: I started retrofitting my windows in the ’90s—and with heating and air costs, I made my money back years ago.

Patio Pergola

WHAT:
A canopy made of sustainably harvested lumber and recycled plastic insulates Nye’s patio.
 

Begley: I covet Bill’s pergola. I just have a piece of lawn furniture from the ’90s.

Solar Panels

WHAT:
PVs on the roof

Nye: The reason I have only four kilowatts is my neighbor’s sycamore tree, which provides cooling. And by the way, Ed, why don’t you clean up all those cables under your solar panels?

Begley: I have 6.5 kilowatts of solar. Bill has maybe two or three [actually four]. I applaud his effort for trying so hard and still ending up second best.

Smart Lawn

WHAT:
Both Begley and Nye have backyard vegetable gardens,
which Nye says has saved him a lot of water.

Nye: He also has an area of plastic grass. Why don’t you just pave it?

Begley: Bill has a lawn in his front yard. I just have fruit trees.

Parting Shots

Nye: I love you, man. Let’s change the world.

Begley: I’m going to crush you, Nye.
 

> Read the full interview with Bill Nye

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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