I was watching my new favorite show the other night--"Living with Ed" on HGTV--and was surprised to see Larry Hagman on the show. He said himself that it was rather ironic that he became famous playing one of the worst oilmen and now is "green." After I heard that, I assumed he had some energy saving features on his house, but was astonished to see to what lengths he has gone to, to use alternative energy. He noted that his energy bill used to be $37,000.00 per year and that now it is $13.00 (yes, thirteen dollars!) per year. The fee was the minimal amount to cover administrative fees and things of that nature. Rather than being off the grid, he is actually contributing to the grid in California, by having one of the largest (if not the largest) solar panel array for a private home. He is able to power five lower income homes in California with his solar energy and sells excess solar power to the local utility. It was amazing to also see how he has incorporated features such as sky lights and natural ways of airing his home (which is huge) to eliminate the need for many artificial lights and air conditioning.

I thought it was really incredible to see how someone with his celebrity has rather quietly embraced clean energy and has made a huge difference in supporting the solar power industry. His single home generates so much solar power that the local utility has paid him in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for the energy. If only more celebrities or other wealthy individuals with money to burn would do the same, instead of simply doing ads or showing up at events for environmental causes, only to continue the status quo of using enormous amounts of fossil fuels. Not only has Larry Hagman taken a leap to support renewable energy but also, he has helped to supply energy to those less fortunate. He should really be commended for that.