Editor’s note: Actor and environmental activist Ed Begley, Jr., journeyed last month in a natural-gas car from his hometown of Los Angeles to Des Moines, Iowa, site of the nation’s first political caucuses, to raise the profile of clean-car technology. Here he relates his (mis)adventures.
Ed — happier in a tree than in a car.
A Week Before DepartureThe good folks at the EarthYear 2000 event in Iowa are excited that I’m driving an alternative-fuel vehicle to their conference. They intend to put it on display for all to see.
I love promoting clean technology. I’ve driven cross-country about 10 times and it’s always exciting and relaxing to watch the countryside unfold. I’m starting to get stoked as the day draws near.
Days Before DepartureI learn that my Ford Contour NGV (natural gas vehicle) will not be ready for my trip to Iowa. I can’t take my other car, a GM EV-1, all the way to the Midwest because I have to be there in three days and an electric car would take weeks with stop-offs for recharging. What’s a fella to do? I could, of course, hop aboard a plane like ever... Read more
