We all need celebrities to remind us how to act, right? Sometimes it seems that way. But, as long as the fact remains that people do what they see celebs doing, it's definitely a good thing to highlight when a well known person like Daryl Hannah chooses to go eco-friendly by riding an electric bike. Daryl always does a good job practicing what she preaches, and this is just one more example. The oft-mentioned Ed Begley Jr. is the one who reportedly set up the actress with her new ride. If you want to find out more about the iZip bike, click here. Pedal power with an electric assist, or electric power with pedal assist depending on how you happen to feel on any given day. And, she's even wearing a helmet!

[Source: Ecorazzi]

Getting ready for the second season of Living with Ed and doing some promotion for greener living, Ed Begley, Jr. is taking to the American road. Begley wil go from LA to Fla. to D.C. and back. Intent on saving money and jet fuel, Begley is driving himself rather than flying. We find this note on Ecorazzi, which doesn't cite a source. So I'll just relay what they're saying verbatim; considering this is our friend Ed we're talking about, the info seems on the up and up to me:

"Ed Begley, Jr. is off on another one of his hybrid-car cross-country trips. He left Los Angeles on Tuesday morning, June 5 in his Prius, driving to Florida for a June 8 World Ocean Day event. Then, he'll drive up to Washington D.C. where he is the master of ceremonies for the June 11 National Trust for Historic Preservation / HGTV Restore America event which includes an introduction of the first lady Laura Bush. Then, he'll depart D.C. for San Diego, CA where he will speak at the San Diego County Del Mar Fair on June 16. Then it's back to L.A. to continue filming the 2nd season of Living With Ed. According to Ed, the drive is part "saving money", part "eliminating the burning of jet fuel" and part "vacation". In total, the trip will encompass appx. 6,284 miles of driving."

Related:

• Ed Begley Jr. promotes Project Greenhouse at Sundance
• Alt Car Expo: Ed Begley and Terry Tamminen on Ending our Addiction to Oil Now

[Source: Ecorazzi]

The Tuesday morning general session started with the news of Monday's Supreme Court decision, which obviously directly affected the conference participants. Here are a few highlights from the rest of what was talked about.

Ed Begley, Jr. gave a wide-ranging talk (promoting just about every green technology you can think of: compact fluorescent lightbulbs, hybrid cars and EVs, biodiesel, hydrogen, solar, and more. He mentioned his new favorite electric car, the Phoenix SUT, by name, but Begley is happy to promote any pure electric car and he ended his speech with a list of reasons why EVs are the best near-term solution. You can listen to Ed here (MP3).

Hockey, maple syrup and Ballard fuel cells are the things that defince what it means to be Canadian today. That's the message from Jim Kenzie, car reviewer for the Toronto Star. In his presentation, The Greening of the Car, he said that pollution used to be thought of as simply bad, but now pollution is tied to climate change, and so it's taking on a wider meaning in society.

Read and hear more after the break

I won't delve into the details of the Phoenix SUT, as they have been covered here before. The basics are that this is an electric vehicle that will act just like any other four door pickup truck for 130 miles at a time between charges. I am seriously considering getting one when I replace my current pickup truck.

If you are interested in one of these for yourself, you will be happy to hear that the official launch of the SUT has taken place in California. I wasn't in attendance, but David Anderson over at Green Options was there and gave his personal observations after riding in the vehicle. Check it out!

Also, Ecorazzi ran a little piece on the unveiling as well, and highlighted Ed Begley Jr. and his wife at the event. Daryl Hannah was also in attendance and they spoke with her too. A detail that I found very interesting and telling was that Phoenix Motorcars is trading their zero emissions credits to other automakers for a price break on their own pickups! That is really great, I think, as it brings the option of owning a zero emission electric vehicle to people (like me) who wouldn't be able to afford it otherwise. Plus, it helps make up the lack of mass-production savings that Phoenix cannot enjoy as a small vehicle manufacturer.

Click here for a video from LA's KTLA news site!

Click here for pictures from Phoenix Motorcars of the SUT's unveiling!

Click here for our complete coverage of Phoenix Motorcars!

[Source: Phoenix Motorcars via Green Options and Ecorazzi]

If there happens to be some time left in your TV viewing schedule tonight (there might be something else on today, I'll have to check), the finale is airing tonight on HGTV. We got an email from Amie Kershbaum on behalf of HGTV saying that tonight's episode will be the "final episode of the show." Ed Begley's reality show on extreme green living (well, fairly extreme) premiered on New Year's Day, so that sure didn't last long.

Well, for one last time, you can see Ed and his wife Rachelle navigate daily life in an eco-conscious way. The couple gets a visit from Bill Nye the Science Guy, and he and Ed try to figure out who lives the most green lifestyle (Nye virtually hosts a resource center on Hybridcenter.org). The show airs tonight at 10 pm on HGTV.

Related:

• Living with Ed checks out SEMA, Jay Leno's green rides on Sunday
• Alt Car Expo: Ed Begley and Terry Tamminen on Ending our Addiction to Oil Now

[Source: Arnie Kershbaum / 360i]

Ed Begley, Jr.'s new green reality show, Living With Ed, premiered on HGTV on the first of the year. While I'm sure most of our readers would be interested in a lot of the environmental issues Mr. Boba Fett (yes, he played Boba Fett on the radio back in the day) bounty hunts on his show each week, it's this weekend's episode that should hold particular appeal to green car enthusiasts.

Remember how Ed was at SEMA last fall? AutoblogGreen spoke with him briefly there and apparently he was filming part of his show at the expo (hey, maybe we're in the background somewhere). After talking about EVs and high-tech batteries (Ed was promoting Altairnano and Phoenix SUVs at SEMA), Ed goes to visit Jay Leno and they talk about alternative energy cars, including the eco-jet car that is currently on display at the NAIAS.

All in all, this show should wrap up a few varying threads we've had here on AutoblogGreen into one 30-minute bit. If you've got cable, the show'll be in HGTV Sunday (the 14th) at 10 p.m. If you don't, keep your eye out for something on YouTube early next week. I think you're able to watch episodes on the HGTV site, but it is loading incredibly slow for me and I don't have the patience to find out.

[Source: Sarah Hofstetter for HGTV]

At the Alt Car Expo on Saturday, Ed Begley, wearing a "Living with Ed" t-shirt and proudly promoting his upcoming show, introduced his friend Terry Tamminen. Tamminen was the keynote speaker on Saturday, and his talk, "End our Addiction to Oil Now," was based off of information in his book, Lives Per Gallon: The True Cost of Our Oil Addiction. Tamminen's talk was obviously refined through what must have been plenty of previous presentations, but it was no less powerful for it.
Nothing would be more patriotic than ending our addiction to oil, Tamminen said, echoing a message heard throughout the weekend. He also said there are 113 billion dollars a year that go to oil and gas companies in direct tax breaks and subsidies. These industries and the car companies work together to deceive us about the true cost of gas and what kind of gas we need. Not only is high octane fuel not better for our engines, it also needs to be run through a refining process multiple times, so the simple production of these fuels cause more pollution than is necessary. Tamminen said automakers formed the Automobile Alliance (similar to Big Tobacco's Tobacco Institute) in 1995, and this alliance did the exact opposite of what company spokespeople said the institute would do (make cars healthier). In truth, the companies checked their competition at the door in order to make the "science" agree.

Click through the jump for more info, more pictures and an MP3 of Tamminen's presentation.

What do you think life is like living with a fanatical, hybrid-driving environmentalist? You can find out on yet another reality show, this time on HGTV, will feature Ed Begley Jr. and his tolerating wife, Rachelle Carson. The 6-episode series, which the press release called "hilarious and feisty," starts in January. We got to know Ed a little earlier this month at the SEMA Show and quickly discovered his passion for all things green, and in the show we discover his spouse isn't quite as a eco-obsessed. Car enthusiasts often live with similar tensions in the household, so there might be some parallels with which we can identify while watching this series. I was a big fan of "St. Elsewhere" when it aired in the '80s, so I'm willing to give the show a chance, and my daughter loves HGTV, so what's the harm in trying?

I'm not sure that watching someone "time" another person in the shower with a stopwatch is amusing; but then again, not a single prank on "Overhaulin" has been even remotely funny or entertaining in the show's entire history. And the undying "we're behind schedule" storyline in "American Hot Rod?" Boring! With the exception of "Pinks," car enthusiasts don't have anything to brag about when it comes to reality based TV shows. I only hope the HGTV show is more exciting than the title: "Living With Ed."

Related:

• SEMA Sitdown: 5 minutes with Ed Begley Jr.
• SEMA Show 2006: Ed Begley Jr. promotes Phoenix SUT, encourages aftermarket involvement with EVs

[Source: HGTV via Earthtoys]