'Living Green' with Ed Begley Jr. March 25 at WIU

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MACOMB, IL -- Environmental activist and actor Ed Begley Jr. will present 'Living 'Green' With Ed' at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, in the Western Illinois University Union Grand Ballroom in Macomb as part of the University Theme 'Global Challenges and Personal Responsibility – Environmental Sustainability' 2007-2008 Speaker Series. Begley's presentation is open and free to the public.

MACOMB, IL -- Environmental activist and actor Ed Begley Jr. will present 'Living 'Green' With Ed' at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, in the Western Illinois University Union Grand Ballroom in Macomb as part of the University Theme 'Global Challenges and Personal Responsibility – Environmental Sustainability' 2007-2008 Speaker Series. Begley's presentation is open and free to the public.

Begley and his wife Rachelle Carson are the subjects of the Home & Garden Television's (HGTV) green reality show 'Living with Ed,' currently in its second season. The show takes an up-close look at Begley living out his environmental passion, from his home powered with the sun and his stationary bike - - which helps run the toaster - - to his electric car and his bicycle.

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He said his devotion to protecting the environment developed in the late 1950s as a youth in scouting through camping trips in New York; during his teenage years in California he witnessed the smog and pollution and shopping malls where rural areas used to be.

'In 1969 came those Hasselblad pictures taken during the first moonwalk, of this beautiful frail water planet in the distance. This had a profound impact on many people I knew - - seeing the Earth as a whole, and us as a part of a finite region. By the time the first Earth Day happened in 1970, I was poised to really get involved. That's when I became a vegetarian, started recycling and composting and bought my first electric car,' Begley is quoted in E: The Environmental Magazine, January-February 1996 article.

Begley has served as chair of the Environmental Media Association and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. He remains on those boards as well as the Thoreau Institute, the Earth Communications Office, Tree People and Friends of the Earth among others. His environmental work has earned him many awards from some of the most prestigious environmental groups in the nation, including the California League of Conservative Voters, the Natural Resources Defense Council, The Coalition for Clean Air, Heal the Bay and the Santa Monica Bay Keeper.

The talented actor of television, film and stage is a six-time Emmy nominee for his role as Dr. Victor Ehrlich on the TV series 'St. Elsewhere.' He has many TV credits, including recurring roles in 'Arrested Development,' Stan Sitwell; '7th Heaven,' Dr. Hank Hastings; and 'Six Feet Under,' Hiram Gunderson.

Begley is also the author of the musical drama 'Cesar and Ruben: A Musical,' about Cesar Chavez, leader of the United Farm Workers, and Ruben Salazar, a reporter for the L.A. Times.