ASHLAND — Poking along like a lanky cowboy on a long cattle drive, his distinctive drawl is easily recognized.

But it is his message that veteran actor Dennis Weaver, a star in the "McCloud" and "Gunsmoke" television series as well as countless movies, wants branded into our social consciousness.

"I want people to become aware of the importance of relating to the Earth, to become aware of what we’re doing to it now," he said, citing environmental damage caused by current lifestyles.

"Scientists are telling us in no uncertain terms that we are now in the process of destroying what we have," he added. "But we have the technology to make a veritable Garden of Eden in this place we live."

Weaver will discuss that technology beginning at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Ashland.

In addition to talking about vehicles fueled by alternate sources such as hydrogen, he also will discuss the mission of his non-profit Institute of Ecolonomics.

He and Gerry, the childhood sweetheart he married in 1945, created the institute a decade ago with the aim of educating people about the symbiotic relationship between a healthy ecology and robust economy.

The institute is located at the spacious home they built in 1989 out of tires, aluminum cans and other recycled material near Ridgway, Colo.

"We realized that to solve our environmental problems we’ve got to get business involved because it’s the most powerful institution on the planet," he explained.

"Everything we do, we do it through business. We came up with the idea that business needs to change but it won’t change unless there is a profit in making that change."

The idea is to support and identify businesses that provide good jobs and a healthy environment, thus a sustainable future, he said.

His interest in the environment began on the farm where he was reared near Joplin, Mo. As a youngster, he marveled at the wonder of nature.

As an adult, after graduating from the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s in fine arts and after launching an acting career, he observed the growing pollution of the air, soil and water.

"I’ve been walking around the planet for a number of years and have seen some very disturbing changes taking place," said Weaver, now 78. "Scientists are telling us that we are now heading toward environmental suicide."

But Weaver believes that direction can be changed.

"We can have a sustainable future," he said. "This idea that we have to choose one (ecology) over the other (economy) is a false idea."

To drive home this message, the institute on May 1 will start the Drive to Survive 2003. That project involves driving a fleet of vehicles powered by alternate energy sources, including hydrogen fuel, from California to the nation’s capital.

The cross-country trip reverses one made in 1919 by then Army Maj. Dwight Eisenhower to show the potential of the internal combustion gasoline engine.

"We think it’s time to make that trip again, but demonstrate the need and tremendous potential of hydrogen," Weaver said.

The reliance on oil and gas is not sustainable, given the finite sources of those fossil fuels, he said. Moreover, the nation needs to conserve its oil now so there will be time to make the transition to alternate fuels, he stressed.

"We need to push the envelope a little bit," he said. "We need a national commitment, the same kind we made when we decided to rebuild after World War II."

If public and private entities concerned about the ecology and the economy work together, a sustainable future will result, he said.

"I often describe the environmentalists and the industrialists like two horses in the same harness, pulling in different directions," he said. "We need to get those horses pulling in the same direction.

"We don’t have to choose between the two," he reiterated. "We can have a strong economy and still save the place where we live."

For more information about the Institute of Ecolonomics, see http://www.ecolonomics.org

Additional information about the Drive to Survive can be found at http://www.drivetosurvive.info

Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at pfattig@mailtribune.com