Celebrity Green Competition

Celebrity Green Competition

When it comes to living green, nobody does it better than Ed Begley Jr. His Studio City home is green as can be and he is constantly making updates and improvements. But two years ago, a new green guru moved in to the neighborhood, Billy Nye, of the television show, “Bill Nye the Science Guy.”

According to a neighbor, Frema Rood, 83, the competition kicked off soon after Bill moved in to the area, “Bill announced it: 'I'm going to best Ed Begley at his own game. I'm going to get him. He ordered panels for the garage, then rain barrels, then he had his windows done and he put in a vegetable garden."

The good-natured competition between Begley and Nye takes place over every domain. Nye’s solar panels are newer and have more features, which makes Begley jealous. The white picket fence that surrounds Begley's two bedroom, 1,585 square foot bungalow is made of recycled plastic milk cartons pressed into boards. Nye used the recycled plastic lumber to build a patio cover, and convinced Rood to use the same type of boards to repair their shared white fence.

Both celebrities use natural pest control: Begley uses beer to keep slugs and bugs away from his vegetable garden and Nye uses a tiny solar-powered electric fence to ward off raccoons.

In terms of aesthetics, Nye wins, hands down. Begley doesn’t care what green looks like, which is obvious to neighbors who cringe at the wires poking around the house and the red rainwater barrels that clash with the home’s blue exterior.

Nye, has a different philosophy, "Ed claims — and this is an extraordinary claim — that he doesn't care how things look as long as they function well," Nye said. "I'm not in that camp. Things have to look good or don't bother."
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