Living Green

Environment always on Turner's mind

Ted Turner, environmentalist, restaurateur and former media mogul, said the answer to getting meaningful action on global warming is simple.

"We better elect people that are smart instead of dumb," Turner, 69, said recently while in Atlanta.

Turner spoke at a breakfast at the Carter Center held by the Georgia Restaurant Association and the Green Foodservice Alliance, which promotes environmentally friendly practices in the restaurant business.

He was joined by business partner and LongHorn Steakhouse founder George McKerrow. Six years ago, Turner and McKerrow started Ted's Montana Grill, a chain that uses recyclable menus, paper straws, biodegradable cornstarch to-go cups and all-natural meats, including bison.

Turner, who drives a Toyota Prius, said he's been concerned about the environment all his life. He said he entered the restaurant business because he was looking for a new line of work.

"I needed to do something," said Turner, who resigned in 2003 as vice chairman of then-AOL Time Warner. "I had been laid off by Time Warner."

The environmental initiatives undertaken by Ted's Montana Grill, which now has 55 restaurants, often come at a short-term cost, said McKerrow. Menus made from recycled paper, for example, are more expensive.

"Up until recently, virtually everything we were doing, honestly, was a net break even or an additional cost," McKerrow said.

Costs, though, are coming down as more restaurants and businesses use environmentally friendly products, Mc-Kerrow said. Some moves, such as using energy-saving lightbulbs, pay off in a few years and then deliver savings, he said.

Government incentives also can help tip the scales in favor of green technology, he said. Ted's Montana Grill expects a three-year payback for solar panels put on a restaurant in Tallahassee because the state provides incentives for solar energy.

Governments, companies and individuals need to act quickly to keep the planet from turning into a "burned-out cinder," Turner said.

The global population is booming, and people are using more energy, exacerbating the problem, he said.

"We have a 200-pound person driving a 4,000-pound car to get a quarter-pound hamburger," Turner said.

Turner would not endorse a presidential candidate but said Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain were all better choices than President Bush.

"It's a good situation as far as I'm concerned," Turner said. "They're all good on the environment."