Philadelphia Eagles quarterback A.J. Feeley, who grew up in Oregon and spent one summer cutting steel at a local mill, never dreamed he'd become an ambassador for the green movement. He's not quite comfortable being called an environmentalist. In fact, Feeley admits that when HBO recently aired An Inconvenient Truth several nights in a row, he fell asleep every time before the end of the film. But this year, when Feeley shopped for a new car, he settled on a hybrid-an unexpected choice for an NFL quarterback, given the flashy Porsches or Ferraris most of his colleagues drive.

For Feeley, the nudge down a greener path came from the Eagles' Go Green program, which began in 2003 initially as a recycling campaign. The stadium staff studied with the gurus of customer experience at Disney to learn that most people will carry a piece of trash only 45 feet before looking for a place to dispose of it-a bit of recycling psychology that has informed the number of bins in the stadium, as well as their placement.

Today, Go Green offers employees and players cash incentives to buy their energy from wind power sources, has persuaded the stadium to use ammonia-free cleaners in the restrooms and has converted some of the field's landscaping vehicles to biodiesel. Even beer is served in cups made from corn that biodegrade in 45 days.

Thanks to the Eagles' efforts, tens of thousands of game attendees unwittingly help green the planet. The stadium recycles 15 percent of its trash, a figure expected to rise in the new season. Feeley, a novice greenie like the fans, talks with Blue Egg about his new ride, energy conservation, and why you don't have to be a hard-core environmentalist to make greener choices.

I have a Lexus 400 RX, a hybrid SUV.

Since around March, when I got it.

I've had a good relationship with Thompson Lexus. I'd done stuff with them before in Philadelphia and the whole Go Green program. I was interested in the concept [of a hybrid]. After finding out what it does and what it's all about, it makes sense. It actually makes the [non-hybrid] car seem obsolete now.

I would say as a consumer you always want to save money. It's a great way to save money because of gas. Also, it's eco-friendly. I think everybody has to do their part now with preserving the environment. That plays a role in it. Number three, I thought it was great-the technology and the regenerative batteries and how they work, how well the car rode.

It's awesome. You'd be surprised how fast it is. It doesn't have lag time like most cars when you turn it on because it's electric. Once you turn the key it's full-powered and ready to go.

Actually, Lexus makes other ones. I can usually fit in just about anything except maybe a Metro or one of those small European cars. Other than that I'm able to conform to a small car. Being in Philadelphia with the snow and some of the weather conditions there, it made the most sense for me to get an SUV.

No. I think I'm the first guy-the first professional athlete in the Philadelphia area, actually, to get one.

You get out! Yeah.

I'm the trendsetter here.

Actually people in the city have seen me drive it. They recognize me. I think it surprises them because they figure all professional athletes drive fast sports cars. I think it might be a pleasant surprise for them to see a guy who's essentially doing his part and driving a hybrid.

They thought it was funny. They make jokes about it all the time. Whatever you read about it says it's just as fast as faster sports cars. But they're constantly making comments like, "Hey, look at the [wimpy] car I'm drivin,' but I'm only spending a dollar for going 100 miles!" Just little constant comments like that.

Within our organization, everywhere you look there's a recycling center within the building. I think they just put in some solar panels for electricity. We pride ourselves on being the first professional organization that is the most eco-friendly in all of sports. There's a lot of stuff that goes along with it-printing paper for the media guides is limited. You can usually access it online. Most organizations print in bulk. We're just very conservative.

It's not until recently that they made it a campaign, made it a noticeable deal. I think most of the guys take for granted that we have recycling centers, how we do our media guide, and a lot of things around the facility.

I don't know if I'd go as far to say that, but I am concerned with the environment and doing my part. I wouldn't put a label on me as far as where I fall, but I'm definitely concerned with it.

Recycling. Recycling around the house. That's a big thing. Try to conserve water-try to do that with the toilets by turning the water level down. Just trying to conserve energy, essentially, from heat and air conditioning. It makes sense to do it and at the same time it saves you money.

One simple thing: I wish people would be more conscious of it rather than bury their heads in the sand. Just become more educated and conscious of what's going on. From there you can make your own decision.

Because of the Go Green campaign, it's become a big deal around the facility. Guys are more aware of it. Now it's in their face.

You'd have to ask them. I'm assuming most of the guys and their wives have recycling bins and they're doing things of that nature.

(Laughs) No.

You said you were getting some heat about the hybrid.

When we're riding in the car I point out when the engine shifts from gas to electric power: "Hey, look, right now we're using gas. Ok, right now we're not using gas-it's all electric." So now they'll get in the car and say, "Hey A.J., are we using gas or are we using electric now?"

If I had a magical power over the environment? I would make it never rain on game day.

Related Resources

Related Articles Wool Gathering- Crispina Ffrench One Man's Trash Is Another Man's...Toothbrush- Eric Hudson Extreme Times Call for X-Treme Measures- Frank Scura See All Related Articles

Related Eco Categories Science & Technology Top 10s Transportation & Travel How to Guides

Topics Business Food Gadgets & Products Family Home

Tip of the Day Be a Picky Eater Beware of the Leaky Pool See All Tips

Glossary Heat gain Fossil fuel Tankless water heater Sustainable development Petrochemical Full Glossary

Site Resources Directory Answers Quizzes