Clean air: driving - and breathing - in style.Take a ride in a clean machine to cut back on air pollution. Growing up on Long Island, N.Y., actor Ed Begley, Jr. loved to camp out in the woods. But at age 13, Begley and his family moved to the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. in California There he witnessed huge tracts of land converted to shopping malls. Pollution from cars and factories cast a haze over Verb 1. haze over - make less visible or unclear; "The stars are obscured by the clouds"; "the big elm tree obscures our view of the valley" becloud, befog, fog, obnubilate, obscure, mist, cloud the valley. "When I ran down to my friend's house, I found I could barely breathe," Begley says. "The smog was choking us." Since then, Begley has become a champion of environmental causes, including the fight against air pollution. Knowing that auto exhaust can lead to breathing problems, decreased visibility, and even global warming global warming, the gradual increase of the temperature of the earth's lower atmosphere as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution. , Begley refuses to ride in gas-powered cars. Instead, he rides a fold-up bike that assembles in 20 seconds. Or, he drives an electric car. His latest pollution-stopping purchase: a sleek GM EV1. Instead of burning gas, the EV1 runs on battery power, which doesn't emit pollutants pollutants see environmental pollution. . Each night Begley plugs the car into a socket in his garage. It's getting easier to recharge on the road, too. "Electric vehicle charging stations are popping up like mushrooms all over L.A.," Begley says. Some people argue that electric cars still harm the environment because the power plants that "electrify e·lec·tri·fy tr.v. e·lec·tri·fied, e·lec·tri·fy·ing, e·lec·tri·fies 1. To produce electric charge on or in (a conductor). 2. a. " them burn fossil fuels like oil and coal. But Begley argues that many power plants today run on "cleaner" energy sources like natural gas or hydroelectric (water) power. In addition to driving clean, Begley powers his house with solar energy solar energy, any form of energy radiated by the sun, including light, radio waves, and X rays, although the term usually refers to the visible light of the sun. . He also recycles or composts nearly all his household wastes. A week's supply of his trash could fit into the glove compartment glove compartment n. A small storage container in the dashboard of an automobile. Also called glove box. glove compartment Noun a small storage area in the dashboard of a car Noun of his electric car! Even small steps can help clean up Earth's air, Begley says. He suggests that at least once a week, you turn down a car ride and walk, bike, or ride the bus. "We can make a difference," he says. "It's late, but not too late." To learn more about air pollution and what you can do to clear the air, check out the charts, graphs, and resources on the next two pages. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion