(Tomato) cage match: Begley vs. Nye

Neighbor Frema Rood, 83, who lives between the two houses, said
the competition started the day after Bill moved into the
neighborhood.
"Bill announced it: 'I'm going to best Ed Begley at his own
game. I'm going to get him,'" she recalled. "He ordered panels
for the garage, then rain barrels, then he had his windows done and
he put in a vegetable garden.''
Nye, 52, pins the source of the rivalry on Begley, who became
envious of Nye's new solar panels while filming a segment of his
HGTV green living show called "Living with Ed.''
"Ed instantly got a little twinge - you could see it,'' Nye
said. "My system, being 15 years younger, has a couple of nice
little features that he doesn't have.''
To liven up the segment, the neighbors pretended to spar over
who had the better system. But in this city where the rich and
famous jockey to be the first behind the wheel of a new
alternative-fuel car, the jokes have given way to an environmental
turf war.
Nye trumped Begley's old solar panels with a system that shows
when he's making more power than he's using. Begley pushed to
offset his wife's 20-minute showers with rain barrels to water the
plants.
Begley long ago installed an Astro Turf lawn to save on water.
He composts his garbage, cooks in an outdoor solar oven and grows
his own produce. His sprinkler system electronically checks the
forecast and shuts down if it's supposed to rain.
Instead of using pesticides, Begley lures slugs and snails away
from his plants with trays of beer that kill them. Nye, who also
has plots overflowing with produce, keeps raccoons away with an
electric fence powered by a matchbox-sized solar panel.
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.
While Begley calls the rivalry a "a friendly, humorous
one-upmanship,'' he admits there are parts of the competition that
are quite serious.
"He has these great copper rain gutters that I covet,'' Begley
said.
Given Begley's 20-year head start, Nye admits that he may never
fully catch up to his neighbor, who was green long before it was
considered cool. Nye has called Begley the inspiration behind many
of the changes he's made, including illuminating his American flag
at night with a light bulb powered by a tiny solar panel.
Begley's daughter, Amanda, still remembers the days when her
friends thought her father was a nut. His early electric car would
start puttering out of energy as it climbed hills, and he would ask
his daughter's friends - self-conscious teenage girls - how much
they weighed.
"Now it's different,'' said Amanda Begley, now 30. "He went
from being the kookiest guy around to the cool guy that everyone's
calling and asking questions about things instead of just thinking,
you know, that he was out of his mind.''
These days Begley has his own all-purpose biodegradable cleaner
called "Begley's Best'' and is regularly approached by inventors
to test new products.
Nye remains confidently in the lead in terms of aesthetics and
order. Begley has wires poking out of appliances, bricks piled high
and red rain barrels are an eyesore against the actor's blue home,
Nye said.
"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.''
Begley said his wife is not a fan of the barrels either. He
admitted the barrels were unattractive but claims he didn't know
they came in different colors and styles.
Begley has since settled on a new plan that should be acceptable
to his wife - an underground cistern to store the water. More
importantly, does he think his latest innovation will make Nye
jealous?
"He already is,'' Begley said.